Family Matters
by Kunfyoozd
Summary: The Titans meet a boy with a connection to Raven and Starfire. RobRav, little later on StarOC. Read and Review. This story is currently being rewritten.
1. Abel

The room wasn't what you'd call cozy. Unless you like dimly lit 8x8x9 rooms that smell like urinals. The boy in the center of the room was getting used to it. Since we're on the subject, let's talk about him, shall we? Yes, I think we will. He's slightly muscular, more than what is usual for a fourteen-year-old of 5'9" and 145 lbs. He has long black hair; which would reach down to his knees, were he standing up, with a silvery tint; in one long braid. His braid wrapped loosely around is neck to keep it from getting too dirty. He has on khakis that are a few inches to long for him, and a bit wide at the waist, held up by a trio of belts tied together; one holding up his pants, while the other two are for show and serve another purpose, but we'll get to that later. His shirt is a white cotton button-down, the sleeves rolled up twice so they reach halfway up his forearms; his left of which is, is wrapped with two belts. On his right bicep is yet another belt, this drawn so that it binds loosely to his arm with the excess dangling from under his sleeve. You may think that he has an obsession with belts. This is true, but they serve a deeper purpose. We'll get to that later. Around his neck is a black and silver rosary, with a crucifix at the end. While decorative this also serves a purpose. We'll get to that later. He also has on black boots with metal plating on the toes and heels. We'll get to that later.

His eyes are closed at the moment, and his facial features are nothing out of the ordinary. Except for the fact that he had a jewel imbedded in his forehead at birth. Other than that he has normal human features. But he is far from human. We'll get to that later. As for his position in the room, he is in the center, sitting with his legs crossed. Sitting on five feet of thin air; sitting _upside down_, on five feet of thin air. Yes, upside down on five feet of thin air. That is what makes this boy far from ordinary, far from human. His origins are strange, and perhaps sacrilegious. For he is the spawn of something vile, a demon; a demon and a creature from a planet distant from Earth, a planet called Tamaran.

As for why he is in a dimly lit, 8x8x9 room that smells like a urinal? We'll get to that later, because I do not believe we- well you have learned his name. His name is Abel; Abel Thayne. Abel is meditating at the moment; he does this keep reasonable control of his emotions which trigger his powers. It used be quite difficult to do, since he also has the natural powers of Tamaranians, which are triggered by expressing emotion, but his demonic powers, also triggered by emotions, are more erratic, and harder to control, so his emotions must be suppressed. He was at a paradox for many years until he met a kindly old woman in Japan, during his quest to control his powers. From her, he learned to control and express his emotions, while not blowing anything to kingdom come, as his powers tended to do.

But enough about him. On to the situation at hand, this involves a robot walking down the hall to his room. When the door slid open, Abel opened his eyes to reveal they were a silver-gray and the parts that would be white on a human; glowed slight and eerie silver. He flipped himself self right side up and set his feet on the ground. He glared at the white-eyed, orange-spot-in-the-middle-of-it's-face, robot for a few seconds, knowing that it couldn't be anything that would benefit him. Wordlessly Abel followed the robot out into the hall, once outside he tried to engage in friendly conversation.

"So…" he started, the robot glanced at him over his shoulder, but proceeded on.

"Got any hobbies?" no response. Abel sighed, 'These things are so boring.'

"Giving me the cold shoulder, eh?" he smirked a little, finding that rather amusing, but got no response.

"Guess so," he said and gave up after that. The next ten minutes were uneventful; Abel decided he would try again, but to no avail. For another fifteen minutes, they walked in complete silence. 'Damn, these halls are long,' Abel thought to himself. No sooner had he completed the thought, they stopped at another door.

"This your stop?" he asked the robot.

'Ever so talkative,' they proceeded into the dark room, there was an array of video screens on the wall providing the little light in the room. They walked in and stopped at the screens, as the robot turned to leave Abel couldn't help but make one more remark.

"Nice talking to you," he called to the robot as the door shut behind it. When he actually took time to consider his new surroundings, he discovered he wasn't alone. There, standing in front of the screens was none other than "One-eye Jack" himself.

"_Slade"_


	2. Spring Cleaning

Teen Titans Tower, the name instills hope into the hearts of many; strikes fear into the hearts others. Teen Titans Tower, it has seen many trying experiences, ranging from simply being haunted to being completely and utterly demolished. Teen Titans Tower has seen trust created, and destroyed. Teen Titans Tower… is currently being redecorated. Yes, redecorated; the residents of the Tower, the Teen Titans of course, were going about their not-so humble abode doing a little spring cleaning. The Teen Titans; Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy; were going about their own cleaning routines. Robin, the daring, masked leader was; with the help of their very own gothic half-demon, Raven, rearranging the Living room. Robin would tell Raven where he wanted something too heavy for him to lift, and she would use her powers to move the objects. Starfire was cleaning the kitchen, she would occasionally squeal or blast something with her star bolts when it caught her by surprise, for example, the blue "fuzzy food" which always seemed to be in abundance. Cyborg was in the garage cleaning and washing his car and robin's motorcycle. He would occasionally stop whatever he was doing to wax his car. He did build it by scratch, so you can't really blame him. Beast Boy, poor, poor Beast Boy was stuck with cleaning his room and trash duty. He, deciding to take the faster, more sanitary task first, took the garbage outside to wait for the trash barge that passed their island on its route. After he had finished that, he built up the courage to enter his room with intent of cleaning it.

"A little to the left," Robin said. Raven adjusted her hands and the couch shifted to the right.

"Your other left"

"Sorry" Raven had been a little behind on her meditation recently, crimes had peaked and they were hardly ever in the tower so, she never had time to meditate. Why isn't she doing that now you ask? Well, that's quite simple, really, with her lack of meditation she had less control of her powers, but that doesn't really explain anything does it? No, I guess not. Maybe this will; she started to feel a new emotion, but she wasn't sure of the source. It was a kind of warm fuzzy feeling, and it felt different when she was with each Titan. Right now it was strongest.

'This is really strange,' Raven mused, when Robin interrupted.

"You don't have to do this, you know. You should be meditating," he said with an unusual hint of concern, "I can handle this," he finished. Raven scoffed at this. Robin had been struggling against the couch when she walked in. She thought it strange that Robin could jump ten feet in the air to kick Cinderblock in the face, but can't handle a 70 lb couch. She decided to voice this.

"You were panting and sweating when I walked in, practically wrestling with the couch. Losing badly, it looked like," 'Not a bad show I might add,' she finished mentally. Robin blushed at this.

"I was Working out earlier," he explained. Raven considered this; he did seem to… bulge?

'Wow, and work out you did Wonder Boy… huh?' Raven shook her head to get the thought out of her head, 'maybe I should go meditate,' she turned to leave, and said over her shoulder, "You sure you can handle this?" she suppressed her smirked.

'That was just _dripping _with sarcasm, I'll get her back,' he thought, "Yeah, I got it. Ordering you around has given me a good rest," he said with a smirk of his own.

"Touché", with that she walked to her room. A breeze from the open window blew her cloak to the left; this gave Robin a good view of her legs and derrière. He tilted his head to the side a bit, but caught himself and went back to work on that damned couch.

Raven felt his eyes on her body, but didn't feel the urge drop the couch on his head, instead she considered turning around and holding his muscular body and…

'What the?' she quickened her pace, when she got to her room she grabbed her mirror and looked into it. She was pulled into her mind, when she landed she impatiently waited for one her apparitions to show up. After what seemed like hours she shouted out to no one in particular. As her rant died down, Impatience showed herself.

"A bit testy today?" she spat out. Her yellow-orange cloak was a little bolder than normal and she looked taller; this happened when one of Raven's emotions was being expressed.

"Lay off a little," said Intelligence as appeared out of nowhere, "You're not helping"

"Where are the others?" Raven inquired. No sooner had she said this when the rest of her emotions appeared wordlessly behind her, well almost wordlessly.

"We're here!" Happy shouted gleefully. Had Raven not been expecting this, she might have jumped. She turned around and sure enough, there they all were. Happy was running around with her arms out at her sides making airplane noises, Impatience watched with disgust. Courage was at the front of the group with a leader like demeanor that reminded her of Robin. Behind Courage, the rest fell in; Pride in her bright blue, Fear and Timid were standing a little close to Courage. Gluttony scratched her butt and belched, causing Fear to jump. As the others appeared, two unfamiliar ones appeared, one in a dark crimson, the other in pink that resembled Happy's cloak.

"Who are they?" she asked Intelligence.

"That," she indicated the crimson Raven caressing herself, "is Lust, and that," she pointed to pink one, who looked a little out of place "is Love"

"Love?" Raven asked, confused, "And Lust? How did this happen?"

"They just sorta came here, like, poof!" said Happy, giggling at her little joke.

"Seriously, what happened?"

"Exactly that, they just appeared here a couple of days ago," Intelligence responded. Just then Raven heard a familiar sound, it was the alarm. As she turned to leave she looked back at her doppelgangers.

"We'll finish this later," she turned and was pulled back into her room. Robin appeared at her door.

"Trouble"


	3. Plots and Musings

"What do you want?"

"To set you free"

"I doubt that"

"Of course you do"

"You're going to use me"

"Perhaps"

"What are you planning?"

"You'll see"

"Show me"

Slade pushed a button on the remote he held and the screens turned on; the five screens combined showed a giant "T" on an island. Abel raised an eyebrow.

"A giant "T" on an island? I think you're losing your touch"

"Perhaps," he pushed another button and the screens showed separate images, five teenagers bustling around cleaning the inside in what looked like Halloween costumes.

"It's not October is it?"

"No. These are the Teen Titans. Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire"

"Oh, those guys," Abel said in a mock tone of realization, he of course knew who the Titans were; he'd been searching for them for two years. Slade did not know this, or he did but gave no hint of it, "What about them?"

"I want you to destroy them," Slade said with a hint malice in his eye.

'He must have one hell of a grudge'

"Any means necessary?"

"As long as it gets done," Slade then pushed the button on the remote and the screens clicked off.

"I do this… and I'm free?"

"We'll see," he responded; and punched Abel in the face, sending him flying across the room.

"What the-"

"I know you have no intention of killing them; I know you've been searching for them for years. You thought you could fool me? Outsmart me? Dear boy, you're clever, but not that clever," he stated with a slight hint of anger.

"How did you know?" Abel asked, he knew it wasn't impossible; Slade was a genius after all.

"You talk in your sleep"

"Son of a-"

"Now, now, that's not necessary, dear boy."

"Whatever; just kill me now."

"I'm not going to kill you. No, I still have use for you"

"What?" Abel was hefted up from behind by one of Slade's many robotic minions. Slade wordlessly produced a gun, Abel recognized it as the pistols his droids always carried; any snide remark he had was unuttered, as Slade shot him with the pistol set to stun. Abel blacked out, and Slade smiled under his mask.

"Take him to the quarry," as the robot turned to leave he added, "Make a big scene," with that Slade turned around and watched the blank screen intently.

TT

The car was barreling recklessly down the street, but it wasn't a problem. Not when the police recognized the steel blue paint job. In the driver's seat was Cyborg, of course. He would never let anyone drive his "baby". Next to him was Raven, who always sat in front, because she helped Cyborg build the car. If, _If_, Cyborg were going to trust anyone else with his "baby" it would be her. Behind Raven sat Robin, who was scanning the GPS from the backseat. Beast Boy was next to him, with Starfire on the opposite side of the car; she was staring out with amazement at the enormous skyscrapers of Jump City, which cowered before the Tower, but amazed her none the less. Beast Boy was engaged in a video game Cyborg installed in the backseat.

"Where are we going?" Raven asked; getting tired of only hearing the beeps from Beast Boy's game.

"The rock quarry, we got reports of Slade's droids running amuck," Robin answered, relieved at the change in soundtrack, especially since it was Raven. Robin shook his head slightly, catching himself doing that a lot lately, "We also have reports of a possible hostage."

"Slade must be losing his touch, if that's all he's got," Beast Boy said getting bored of losing fifty times in a row. Raven was barely paying attention, she was thinking about that slight surge of emotion she felt from Robin when she asked where they were going. It was a little like the warm, fuzzy feeling she had. She considered this awhile when she remembered the fact that she had two new emotions. Love and Lust. She doubted lust produce a warm, fuzzy feeling. She considered love; it is true she loved her friends on different levels. Cyborg was like a brother to her. Beast Boy, well he was tolerable.

Starfire was her best friend. And Robin, he was her leader, and gave her privacy. The fuzzy feeling always seemed strongest around him… and it hit her like so many bricks.

The feeling was always strongest around him! Could she be in love with Wonder Boy?

Or maybe it was just one of her emotions? They did tend to show signs of individuality, but they were only apparitions. Maybe she was just disoriented from the breaking of her routine.

'Yes, that's exactly what it is, I'm just disoriented. I just need to meditate and everything will be fine!' she thought, hardly convinced, 'I'm not in love with Robin. Everybody knows he has a thing for Starfire!' this last thought saddened her a little, but she wasn't sure why. Then Robin's voice broke her reverie.

"We're here. Care to join us?"

She wordlessly got out of the car.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine, just need to meditate later," she couldn't help but sense the concern in his tone, "Let's go," Robin hesitated, examining her with his masked eyes, but simply nodded and ran to catch up with the others. Raven followed, when she got to the edge, she took in the scene. There, amongst the rock and machinery were almost thirty of Slade's "orange-spot-in-the-middle-of-their-faces" droids. They were scattered out at random, except for one group, who surrounded the limp form of a long-haired boy, laying face-down in the dirt. He was still alive; she could sense his heart beating in his chest. He had on khakis and a white shirt, and a lot of belts. There was also something familiar about the boy but she couldn't place it. Starfire must have noticed the same thing, because she tilted her head the way she does when she sees something familiar and didn't expect to see on earth. Once again she was brought out of her trance by a voice.

"Dude! Is there, like, a website or something?" Beast Boy asked. Starfire almost answered, when she realized it was rhetorical question. Robin told them the battle plan and was about to utter that famous command, when the boy suddenly sprang from the ground and engaged the droids surrounding him in combat.

Robin regained his composure and ordered the Titans forward.

"Titans, Go!"


	4. Family Reunion

Abel opened his eyes slowly, and would have gotten up if his face and chest didn't stop him from doing so. He also refrained from standing because he realized he was surrounded by Slade's mechanized cronies. Not just two or five, but at least fifteen from where he could see.

'There must be a production line, or a website, or something,' He didn't risk turning his head in the slightest, lest it give him away. He waited for his body to ache less. When he heard the tell-tale sound of pistol charging, 'Now or never,' with that he sprung from his face-down position and kicked the gun out of the closest robot's hand. Gun in hand he blasted three of them in the face, catching another gun as it flew passed him, shot the other three surrounding him. As the others advanced on him he took a quick body count.

'Thirty. There _has _to be a production line. Six down, twenty-four to go; this should be cake,' that's when he heard it. That order that crushed many a villain's devious plans.

"Titans, Go!"

He glanced over his shoulder and saw the five teens making their way down the quarry. Many of the droids turned their attention toward the incoming teens.

'That leaves twelve'

He destroyed eleven of them with his pistols, as he turned to the last one he found them depleted. He threw them aside and punched a hole in the last ones chest, tearing out its circuits as he removed his fist. He turned and saw the Titans still had one each left. Without hesitating he used his inherent powers to finish them off, much to the surprise of the Titans.

TT

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

The Titans heard the familiar chant, but the voice was more masculine. The four turned to Raven who shrugged in confusion, then it dawned on them that they had a "civilian" in their midst. As they turned to consider him, they saw he had his hand out. His eyes glowed a faint silver, and his hand was surrounded in a familiar black aura.

"How did you-" but Raven's question was interrupted, as she noticed hundreds of Slade's droids on the high cliffs.

The stranger spoke in a familiar monotonous voice.

"I'm convinced there's a website. I'm-" he never got to finish when the droids flung themselves with reckless abandon from the cliffs. He turned on them, "It's rude to interrupt!" he shouted as he flung an armada of steel beams at them with his powers. The beams hit three or four of the robots, before losing momentum and falling back to earth. The falling beams took out a few more as they fell, cutting their numbers by at least fifty. The Titans stared dumbfounded. When the stranger turned around again he said,

"You guys want to help, or should I do this myself?" without waiting for an answer he turned toward the droids and threw himself at them. The Titans quickly regained their composure and entered the fray. Raven flung boulders and beams at them, all the while pondering how this stranger had powers like hers. Robin took out his retractable Bo and set to work beating the artificial life out of the production-line goons. Cyborg blasted away with his arm cannon, while Beast Boy took the form of a mammoth, and mowed them down and crushed them like so many tin cans. Starfire hurled her bolts with deadly accuracy, occasionally frying them with her recently obtained eye-beams.

When the Titans had finished their opponents, they turned to boy to see him still battling with his. They ran to help when all of the droids pounced on him at the same time. It was a distance of at least one hundred fifty yards, and when they where about forty yards away, they saw his eyes and hands glowing again. His eyes glowed silver, but instead of black, his hands glowed silver as well.

"Stay Back!" he shouted when he saw them, "I've got this!"

Before any one could say any thing he managed to free his hands and brought them together. With a blinding flash the droids that dog piled him were disintegrated, and those still running toward him were thrown back landing in twisted heaps of molten steel. When the Titans could see again, all that was left was a crater twenty feet deep and twenty feet in diameter. When they reached the edge they saw him floating out of the hole, admiring his handy work.

"Never done that before," he stated casually. They all just stared open-mouthed; they seemed to be doing that a lot. An awkward silence followed, trying to break the silence the stranger spoke,

"So… Got any hobbies?"

Either the breaking of the silence or the absurdity of the question brought them all from their stupor. They all looked at the boy curiously. Then Beast Boy spoke.

"Video games," this caught the attention of the other Titans and they all shifted their gaze on Beast Boy, "What?" he said with a shrug. Then the stranger spoke again.

"I'm Abel, by the way. How you guys doing?" he said casually. Raven decided to voice her thoughts.

"We're fine. How did you do that? How did you know that chant? What does Slade want with you?"

Abel took a deep breath and said with that single breath.

"I was born with the ability. My mother taught it to me. He captured me and told me to kill all of you, but when I refused, he brought me out here to be destroyed."

This brought another stare from the Titans. Despite the fact that they were staring at him, they failed to notice the many cuts and bruises on his body. He also had second degree burns from pistol fire. Abel decided to point this out.

"I think I need medical attention"

For the first time they actually looked at his body and saw that he was, indeed in need of medical attention. Robin finally spoke up.

"That looks pretty bad"

"Worse than it feels"

"You can come back to the Tower with us. I'm Robin. That's Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy. We're the Teen Titans."

"I know who you are"

"Okay, let's get out of here," They made their way out of the quarry, Starfire carried Cyborg, Raven carried Robin, Beast Boy took to the air as a hawk, and Abel flew himself up. When they landed, they made their way to the car, Abel commenting on it. After an hour long drive in silence they arrived back at the Tower. In the garage Beast Boy got out first, reverting back to human form; he had to take that of a cat to fit Abel in. Starfire got out next, Robin scooting out after her. Abel, Cyborg, and Raven got out at the same time, when Abel glanced at Raven he caught her staring at him again. He didn't say anything; he just held the stare, refusing to back down. After a few seconds Raven started to feel awkward and, breaking the stare, she walked to the elevator. Abel followed her with his eyes, and then followed with his feet as he averted his eyes.

In the elevator there was silence, except for the hum of the car moving up the Tower. Starfire decided to break it by starting a conversation.

"This is a most magnificent contraption, how does it work?"

"Pulleys and cables attached to the very top floor of the building it's in, and the car itself. It's programmed to recognize the floor number of the button pressed. When someone presses a button, or buttons, a signal is sent to the computer running it and the elevator moves to the desired floors," Abel answered in his monotonous voice as if bored of saying that over and over again. Starfire glanced at the others, Abel noticed this and shrugged, "Or something like that."

When the elevator reached the floor with the medical wing, the teens all filed out. Once inside a room with good lighting, they noticed that Abel's skin had a familiar orange hue and the whites of his weren't exactly white. At this Starfire gasped.

"You are Tamaranian?" she asked gleefully.

"I guess so"

Raven also noticed he had a jewel much like hers imbedded in his forehead.

"You're half-demon" she observed. That was the familiarity she felt earlier, maybe the same thing with Starfire.

"Yes"

When all of his injuries were dressed, Cyborg took a blood test to check for infection, and found that he was in fact half Tamaranian and half demon when he ran it against samples of Raven and Starfire's blood. He also found something else,

"Raven, uh… you two have identical DNA…" this time everyone stared at Cyborg and the screen behind him. Everyone except Abel, who looked like he had just had an epiphany; which is, in fact the case,

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Raven. We're related." he said in that casual monotone of his. Starfire got excited about this. She pulled Raven and Abel into a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, friend Raven! You have found your long-lost sibling! Is this not glorious?"

"Super"


	5. Another Plot and More Musing

"Damn it!" Slade shouted as he pounded his fist into the wall. He rounded on the droid that had brought him the video recording of the events in the quarry. He had not known the boys full potential, and he let him slip through his fingers. Not this time. He would let him stay with the Titans, let him grow attached. Then, he will strike; and when he does, no one, not even the Teen Titans will be able to stop him.

"I'll get you my boy. I will get you, and you will bend to my every whim," he said to himself; then he began to laugh. His laughter grew. When he calmed down he turned to the robot behind him.

"Leave me," he ordered. The robot mindlessly obeyed. Slade turned back to the array of screens. They showed a still shot of Abel bringing his hands together in an explosive clap that destroyed anything that got too close. The picture was awe inspiring as it showed the explosion in its early form. The light from the microscopic supernova accentuated the boy's expression. It showed anger, it showed courage. But most noticeably it showed power, it showed control, it showed a desire to destroy. Controlled chaos. The subtlest, deadliest weapon; powerful in any hands, deadly in the right ones. Slade smiled to himself.

"Perfect"

TT

They were all in the living room. Sitting or standing around the couch that Robin had been wrestling with only four hours ago. Abel had explained everything he could. He did not know much about the day of his birth. He was raised on Earth having been taken there by his mother. She had died when he was six. He explained how he had been left to the care of a humble old woman in Japan; she taught him control and martial arts. He explained how he found an ancient scroll that mentioned his father producing another child before him, and how he set out to find his sibling. He was explaining how he had been captured by Slade.

"Four or five months ago, I had just arrived here in Jump City. I had been in Steel City when I heard about a group of teens kicking bad-guy butt whenever it showed up, so I decided to check it out. Then I came here, I'd been living in some run down building near the pier. When I saw Slade. He was fiddling around with some sort of machine, talking to someone about destroying you all for good and how you had foiled his plans so many times. I knew this couldn't be good so, I tried to stop him. When he saw that I was more than human he had me captured. I was 'living' there for almost a month," he sighed wondering if he'd left out anything else, "I think that's about it," he began fiddling with his rosary.

"What's that for?" asked Beast Boy. He knew it was a rosary, he just found it odd that a half-demon had one.

"It was my mother's. Soon after we arrived on earth she discovered Christianity. She gave it to me before she died. It's also a portal into my mind"

"What about the belts?"

"They catch and store a lot of energy I don't use right away for future reference," It wasn't the monotone that unsettled them; it was how closely it resembled Raven's after this there was a brief silence. Cyborg decided to speak.

"So… siblings, huh?" this brought a stare from Raven and a glance from Abel.

"Half," Abel responded after a brief pause, "We share the same father. My mother was Tamaranian," he said in his bored monotone. It really unsettled the Titans how he resembled Raven. It was then that Robin decided to voice his thoughts.

"Well, now that introductions are out of the way, let's see what you can do."

"Sure," but as Abel moved from his position against the back of the couch, he staggered forward and had to catch himself from falling with his powers, "Or not, maybe I should rest?" Robin finally took note of how tired he was. The others noticed this as well.

"Perhaps it is best we all get the 'shut eye'?" Starfire stated. Robin nodded and they all made their ways to their rooms. Robin then remembered Abel. He turned to tell him he could crash on the couch, but saw him floating upside down with his legs crossed. His braid dangled an inch or so from the floor.

"Uh… make yourself… at home"

"Thanks," Abel responded without turning. The Titans just shrugged and turned to go to their rooms while their own thoughts went through their heads.

'Tomorrow is going to be a most glorious day!'

'First I have new emotions, now I have a brother; this is just great'

'I wonder if he likes video games'

'I should do a background check, just to be sure'

'Dude! I never finished my room!'

TT

They were content; sitting there in each others arms, soaking in the sun. He looked down at his lover. She looked up, into his eyes with her beautiful amethyst ones. He leaned down, as she leaned forward. Their lips met. And Robin woke with a start.

"What?"

TT

"So, what about these new emotions," Raven addressed Intelligence.

"Like I said, they just appeared here. We're not sure how or when,"

"You said they had appeared a couple of days ago"

"That is when we noticed them. They may have manifested earlier"

"Where are they?"

"Last I saw, Love was talking to Happy, Courage, and Pride. Lust has locked herself in her domain. I don't know what she's doing, but considering her name I have a pretty good idea"

"Okay, thanks," Raven said as she left to find Love. She found her in Happy's domain. They were running through the bright flowers. When they noticed her, Happy greeted her, giddy with excitement.

"Hi!"

"Hey. Can I talk to her alone?"

"Okay!" Happy responded with a ridiculously huge smile. Raven and Love left Happy to frolic in her meadow. When they were outside, Love turned to Raven.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"We need to find Lust first," Raven responded. She wasn't exactly sure she wanted to do that, "Where is her domain?"

"This way," Love led her to Lust's portal to find it closed. Raven forced it open with her powers, and walked in. Inside everything was crimson silk. Raven also saw some things

that she would never use, let alone own. Desperate to get out of there fast, she called out to Lust.

"I need to talk to you!" It was a minute or so before Lust appeared behind Raven, trying to smooth out her hair.

"What?" she asked panting a little. Raven looked her over incredulously.

"We need to talk," she said as she started to leave, "Let's go"

When they were outside, Raven turned to them.

"How did you get here?

"We've always been here," Lust started, giving up on smoothing out her hair.

"You just forced us down so much, you never noticed us," Love finished.

"But I force Rage and Wrath down, they still appear," Raven argued.

"Yes, but you forced us down so much," Lust started

"We didn't even appear on the radar," Love finished

"You two aren't going to do that all the time, are you?" Raven asked.

"What?" they said at the same.

"That, and finish each others sentences"

"Probably. We are connected after all," Love started

"You might start to notice the same thing with Happy, Timid, Pride, and Courage," Lust finished.

"Okay. Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"No"

"We've told you all we know"

"I have to go," Raven said turning to leave.

"Bye" they said simultaneously.

"It was nice talking to you," Love started.

"Hope we can do it again some time," Lust finished. Raven was pulled back into her room. As she crawled into bed she wondered why she hadn't asked about the warm, fuzzy feeling.

'It never crossed my mind' she thought, taking note of the irony. She drifted into a peaceful sleep, dreaming about a certain masked teenager.


	6. Breakfast

The next morning the Titans woke up at the same time. They all went down to the kitchen to find Abel searching the cabinets. He took no notice of them walking in. Raven took it upon herself to get his attention.

"Sleep well?" she asked casually

"Didn't sleep," he replied, "I was meditating"

"You were meditating all night?" Robin asked, still thinking about his dream.

"Yes. I have a lot of power. I need a lot of control," Abel replied. He noticed that Robin was only half paying attention, made no mention of it.

"What are you looking for?" Robin asked as Raven opened the cabinet that contained her teabags.

"I was looking for-" he noticed Raven making her tea, and levitated a bag to himself, "That" he finished. This caught Raven off guard; she looked at him with interest.

"You drink herbal tea?"

"Breakfast, lunch, and dinner when I was in Japan"

"What's for breakfast?" Beast Boy asked.

"Bacon!" Cyborg answered. Beast Boy rounded on him and the two of them started their usual morning routine.

"Dude, do you do this on purpose?"

"Sometimes, yes"

It went on like that for a while, until Starfire butted in.

"Please, friends! We have a guest!" she indicated Abel, who was floating with his legs crossed and had an amused look on his face, "Perhaps he has a request for the Breaking of the Fast?" Beast Boy and Cyborg stopped wrestling on the floor and looked up at Abel. Everyone else looked at him as well.

"I'm good," he raised his mug, "Like I said, breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Starfire looked crestfallen. When Abel noticed this, he offered, "I could cook you guys breakfast"

"Oh, wondrous!" Starfire ran to him, and engulfed him in a hug. The Titans were baffled at how Abel wasn't suffocating.

"Dude, whenever she does that to any of us we turn purple!"

"I'm half Tamaranian, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Beast Boy said rubbing the back of his neck, "I forgot about that"

"So," Abel started, "I assume Cyborg wants bacon," Cyborg nodded.

"And waffles"

"Waffles," he started to make a list, adding bacon and waffles to the top, "Starfire?"

"I would like a bowl of the loops of fruit and toast with mustard of the honey!"

"Froot Loops and toast with… mustard," he said adding them to the list. The others shrugged when he looked at them.

"Beast Boy?"

"Tofu eggs and soy milk. How did you know she was talking about Froot Loops?" Abel opened the cabinet that contained the cereal. Froot Loops was all they had, "Oh"

"Raven?" he continued

"More tea"

"Okay. Robin?" he looked at Robin who seemed to find the wall very interesting, because he was staring at it intently. Beast Boy waved his hand in front of his face but, he didn't seem to notice. Abel took upon himself to bring him from his trance by surrounding his feet in black aura. Only Raven saw this, when she looked at Abel he smirked and flipped Robin upside down and held him there. Robin blinked and looked at Raven, who jerked her head at the newcomer.

"Care to join us?" Abel asked trying not to laugh.

"What?"

"Breakfast, Boy Wonder"

"Oh, uh, coffee's fine. Can you put me down now?" Abel flipped him right side up and set him down, "And don't call me Boy Wonder"

"Roger" Abel said with a salute, "Breakfast should be ready in half an hour," as the Titans returned to the living room Starfire asked

"Please, who is this 'Roger'?" Robin explained how it was just another earth saying. Abel turned to start breakfast and thought about what he had picked up from Robin.

'Boy Wonder has feelings for sis. I got the same readings from her too. This is interesting'

TT

In the living room Beast Boy challenged Cyborg to game of Super Deep Space Racing 4. As the two started playing Starfire cheered them both on. Robin leaned against the couch and watched Raven from the corner of his eye. Raven, taking advantage of their grace-period, meditated. Because of her lack of meditation she couldn't feel Robin's eyes on her. Soon her mind began to wander to Robin himself. She had a mental image of him and she dived into it, adoring the feeling.

Robin watched her intently, unconsciously turning his head toward her. Her eyes moved behind her eyelids and a small smile crept across her lips. He smiled himself, taking her in. The way her chin length hair fell over her face, her beautiful smile; no matter how small. Her smile suddenly disappeared from her face, and Robin felt a little sad. Then she opened her eyes and Robin quickly looked away.

She was swimming in her thoughts of Robin when she realized she was smiling. She quickly set her face to neutral again and started to meditate. As she regained control of her powers, she felt someone's eyes on her. When she opened her eyes, she noticed Robin quickly look away.

'Was he staring at me?' she felt a blush rising.

'Is she blushing?' Robin thought, still watching her from the corner of his eye.

"Breakfast is ready," Abel said bringing Robin and Raven back to earth. They got up and walked to the table.

"Smells good" Cyborg said breathing it all in, "except for Beast Boy's stuff," at this Beast Boy punched him but only ended up hurting himself. Everyone took their seats. Abel had set up the table so Robin and Raven were sitting next to each other.

'Just an experiment,' he thought to himself as they sat down. Cyborg tried a piece of bacon and a smile spread across his face.

"Have you tried your Cooking?"

"No. I've never cooked before," Abel answered with a shrug. Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at him open mouthed. Starfire was too busy enjoying her meal, and Robin and Raven were to busy avoiding each others gaze to notice anything else.

'I bet he did this on purpose,' Robin thought as he stared into his coffee. He picked it up and took a sip, when he saw Abel over the rim of the mug. He was smirking at him, 'He _did _do this on purpose!'

Raven noticed this as well and glared at him. This simply made Abel smile more.

"So, who's older, again?" Cyborg asked, breaking the silence. It took Abel a while to realize he was talking to him.

"She is, by two years"

"You're fifteen?" Raven asked, still glaring at him.

"In three months" Abel replied, by the look Raven was giving him, he doubted he would live that long. When breakfast was over and the dishes were put in the sink, Robin turned to Abel.

"Ready to take me up on my offer?"

"Absolutely"

"The gym's this way," he led the way to the gym. When they got there, Robin stepped onto a large mat and turned to Abel again.

"You said you learned martial arts, right?"

"Yeah"

Robin took a fighting stance.

"Show me what you've got"


	7. Sparring

"Perfect. They have accepted him. All is going according to plan. All I have to do is watch and wait."

TT

Abel and Robin faced each other on the mat. Robin had changed into a white gi and Abel into a black one. They bowed as a sign of respect and took on their fighting stances. Cyborg stepped between them, hand out in front of him.

"Three minutes. Full speed. Medium contact," he stated in an official tone. Abel gave him a 'you've-got-to-be-kidding-me' look, "Alright, full contact, anything goes," he dropped his hand, "Go!"

Robin and Abel launched themselves at each other. Robin threw a right roundhouse to Abel's head, but he blocked it and countered with a left spinning back kick. Robin twisted his torso to the right, deflecting the kick, and throwing a right back-fist to Abel's temple. Abel ducked and from his position, kicked his leg out in a sweep, but Robin did a quick cartwheel to get out of the way. Abel stood and smirked at Robin, who smirked back.

"Is that all you've got?" Abel asked

"Just warming up," the older boy retorted, unfazed.

Once again they launched themselves at each other. Abel jumped and flipped in mid-air; he landed behind Robin and swept at his feet again. This time Abel connected. As Robin fell he caught himself and used his momentum to flip himself back up. Abel threw a punch at Robin's face he stood up. Robin parried the punch and grabbed Abel's wrist, he twisted and launched him over his shoulder. Abel was caught by surprise and almost landed on his face, but tucked himself into a ball as he hit the ground. He stood and killed the rest of his momentum with an aerial. Abel looked behind him and saw a rack with four six-foot staves. Using his powers, he pulled two toward himself and threw one of them to Robin. Robin expertly twirled his staff. Abel copied it smoothly. They ran at each other and furiously swung their staves. They clashed and stared each other in face. Robin smirked, and put on an extra burst of energy, forcing Abel to back down a little. Then Abel gave Robin a wink and shot his foot out under both staves and connected with Robins gut. Robin staggered a little but balanced himself. He was about to strike, but Cyborg interrupted.

"Time," but neither of them had had enough and launched themselves at each other again. They sparred with blinding speed, matching each other blow for blow and sending splinters of wood flying everywhere. The sound of wood connecting to wood and wood to flesh filled the room.

At the side lines, Starfire covered her eyes, and Beast Boy watched mouth agape. Raven watched silently. She was impressed by her brother's fighting skill. Yes, she accepted him as family. He had already proven himself a friend. She let her attention drift to Robin, who was panting slightly; she took in how his muscles tensed with every movement and rippled with exertion. She watched as Robin jumped into the air with his staff over his head, he brought it down to meet Abel's raised staff. Abel's staff broke in the middle and he staggered a bit, he didn't seem bothered by the fact that he now had two three-foot clubs instead of one six-foot staff, In fact he pressed on and the battle continued on for another three minutes. Robin finally disarmed Abel and held his chipped staff at his throat.

"Give up… yet?" Robin panted

"No," Abel responded, breathless and quickly pulled the staff out of Robin's hands, spun and swept Robin's feet from underneath him. Robin landed on his back and Abel held the staff at his throat, "How… 'bout you?"

"Alright, alright, I think that's about enough!" Cyborg hastily stepped between the two of them, "If ya'll keep this up we'll need to rebuild the gym!" he indicated the carnage the two boys had unwittingly caused. Abel helped Robin up and they looked around. Cyborg was right. Most of the equipment had been smashed, and one half of Abel's staff was imbedded in the wall. When Abel pointed this out, Cyborg tapped him on the shoulder and pointed toward the ceiling. Everyone looked up and saw the other half stuck in the ceiling, some of the dry wall fell and land at Starfire's feet. She cringed at the sound, her hands still over her eyes.

"It's over Star, you can open your eyes," Raven said with a little annoyance. Starfire opened her eyes and gasped at the destruction. She looked at the two combatants, covered in minor cuts and bruises, panting on the mat. Her eyes grew wide.

"You are unharmed!" she said as she engulfed Abel in another would-be bone-crushing hug, she released him and ran to Robin, "It is good to see you are well!"

"Does she usually get this excited?" Abel asked Raven.

"She's actually pretty calm," his sister replied. Starfire released Robin, and he stepped forward. He held out his hand to Abel.

"Impressive," he said as Abel shook his hand.

"Not too bad yourself," he replied, "What are going to do about this?" he gestured at the broken equipment.

"We could start with this," Robin said as he tried to pull the stick from the wall. It moved a few inches and got stuck, "Or not," he turned around and shrugged. He started to pick up splinters as Abel yanked the staff pieces from the wall and ceiling with his powers.

"I think I can fix these," he said holding the staff halves up to his face. He put the ends that connected the staff together. They still fit together, "Yeah I can fix this"

"Dude, how?" Beast Boy asked.

"Got any Duct Tape?" he said. Everybody laughed, "I'm serious"


	8. Initiation

"Soon, my boy; very soon"

TT

The sun was high in the sky. It was an hour or so after the chaotic sparring match. Both boys had showered and changed, Abel was in his only set of clothes, except for his extra belts and boots. Robin was in his uniform with his cape off, but close at hand. When the others asked why he had removed his belts he explained that they were only for catching extra energy.

"Since I'm not using my powers, I don't need anything to catch them," he said as he re-braided his hair. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Robin were playing video games. Starfire took on her usual role of cheering them on. Raven sat at the far end of the couch watching in boredom; she had nothing to read, having finished her last novel while Robin and Abel were taking their showers.

"I've gotcha, man! There's _no _way you're gettin' past me!"

"Dude, that's cheating!"

"You're just jealous"

It had been something like that since they started, but Abel wasn't really paying attention. He was watching Raven, his sister; who was watching the game out of complete and utter boredom, he could tell. The look of boredom seemed to disappear from her face when she glanced at Robin.

'He's kicking some pretty good butt,' she thought to herself. Her hood was up so it hid the smile that crept onto her face, 'And speaking of butt!' she thought as Robin shot up in an attempt to gain an advantage. She blushed a little, but her hood concealed it. She had partially accepted that she might have feelings for Robin, but she still surprised herself when she started to think about him. Cyborg's cry of victory yanked her from her thoughts.

"BOO-YAH!" he started to jump around while Beast Boy accused him of cheating.

"What happened?" Abel asked Robin from his perch on the back of the couch, "You were about to crush them"

"I… got distracted," he said glancing at Raven, 'What happened?' he asked himself mentally, 'You saw her watching you,' he answered himself, 'Oh yeah… she was watching me, and she might have been smiling. Blushing! She was blushing! She was watching me! Smiling and blushing! Watching me!'

Abel heard this because he had his hand on Robin's shoulder, the physical contact giving him access to his immediate thoughts

'I knew it,' he thought as he withdrew his hand so Robin would not hear his thoughts too. Even if his hand hadn't been on Robin's shoulder, he still felt the emotion emanating form him. It was a mixture of joy and excitement. He glanced at his sister, and it was obvious that she had felt it too. Abel felt a hint of embarrassment form her, as well. He smirked knowingly when she looked at him.

'He knows?' she thought, 'No, he can't possibly-' his smirk grew a little too big for her comfort, 'He knows!' her eyes widened, but before she could say anything the alarm went off. Raven and Robin both sighed.

'Saved by the bell?' Abel projected into his sisters head.

'Yeah- wait, how did you do that?'

'We're related, we have a natural mental connection. Now that we're sure of each other's existence, it's been established'

Robin grabbed his cape and put in on. Closing the clasp he ordered.

"Titans, Go!"

The other four Titans ran out the door. As Raven walked out she turned to Abel.

"Are you coming?"

"Well, I was planning on cleaning the fridge, but what the heck?" he pulled his boots toward him with his telekinesis and put them on. He put his belts in their appropriate places, "I could use the exercise"

TT

The Titans arrived at the bank, but when they got out of the car, Robin noticed they were short a member.

"Where's Raven? And Abel?" he must have been so busy trying not to think about her that he forgot about her all together.

"There they are," Beast Boy pointed to the siblings not too far away. When they landed they glared at them halfheartedly.

"Thanks for waiting," Abel said, "So, what's up?"

"Don't know yet," Robin answered. No sooner had he said this, when he heard the voice he dreaded more than Slade's.

"Robbie-poo!" Kitten shouted; Fang was behind her carrying bags of money and jewels in his spider limbs and human arms.

"Girlfriend?" Abel asked. Robin rounded on him.

"No! I took her to her prom to save the city once and that's it!"

"That was the worst night of my life!" Kitten shouted back.

"Okay… and what about her pet spider?"

"I'm her boyfriend," it answered. This caused Abel to raise an eyebrow.

"Robbie-poo, who's the cutie?" Abel then raised both of his eyebrows. Everybody looked from Kitten to Abel and back again. Kitten was biting her bottom lip, in a seductive way. Abel had a look of confusion, horror, and disgust. Fang tensed in anger and glared at Abel. Civilians in earshot, who had been running for their lives, stopped and watched the spectacle with interest and amusement. Raven saved everyone from the awkward silence.

"He's my brother," this caused Kitten, Fang, the civilians to look at her and Abel in shock. Abel, unfazed by the stares, used the opportunity to strike. He surrounded Fang's spider limbs in black aura, lifted them over his head, and with his free hand blasted him in the chest with a silver star bolt. Fang grunted as Abel threw him into a nearby streetlight and wrapped it around him.

"Oops," he said with a shrug, "It slipped," he winked at Kitten. This enraged her quite a bit.

"Slip on this!" she screeched as she pulled out a detonator. She pressed a button, but nothing happened.

"Are you serious?" Abel said, the he noticed the Titans looking at the sky in preparation, "What?" then he heard it, a buzzing sound or a hum, and it got louder.

"There!" someone shouted, pointing toward bank. Everybody looked in that direction and coming over the roof of the bank was a black cloud. Abel realized it was not a cloud, but a swarm of moths. Not just any moths, but big honking mutant moths. At the front there was a larger one, it looked almost human.

"Daddy!" Kitten shouted waving. The cloud stopped above her and 'daddy', Killer Moth, landed next to her.

"What's wrong sweetie?" he asked in that 'I'll-give-you-anything-you-want-just-don't-cry' tone, "Tell Daddy what happened."

"Look what he did to Fang!" she pointed to Fang, who was struggling against the pole.

"Who did it sweetie. Tell Daddy who did this," Kitten pointed to Abel. Killer Moth stood and turned to Abel, "And who are you?"

"I'm sorry, we haven't met. I'm Abel. I'm kind of new in town. May I say your daughter…" Abel paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, "Is a pain in the butt,"

Apparently not.

"How dare you!" Killer Moth shouted, "Kill them!" he ordered. The swarm stopped its rotation around Kitten andflew toward the Titans. The civilians who had been watching, resumed their screaming and running in terror.

"Smooth, dude"

"Titans, spread out! Starfire, get that trigger! Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, take care of those moths! Abel, help them! I'll get Killer Moth. Go!" Robin commanded as he drew his Bo and lunged at the humanoid. Starfire flew at Kitten and tackled her, and the two of them began wrestling for the remote. Raven and Abel threw objects the moths and fired dark aura needles, Abel launching the occasional barrage of star bolts. Beast Boy took the form of a hawk and engaged the moths in claw-to-claw combat. Cyborg, being incapable of flight in any form or fashion, set to work blasting the overgrown pests to little, bitty pieces.

Eventually Robin had pinned and cuffed Killer Moth. Starfire had managed to wrestle Kitten into a position where they were now slapping at each other in an attempt to gain and keep control of the remote. The others still had plenty of moths to take care of; they were covered in cuts and entrails.

"Fear not friends," Starfire shouted triumphantly, finally managing to relieve Kitten of her power. Kitten had a black-eye from Starfire punching her; tiring of the squabble, "I will rescue you!" she crushed the remote in her hand. She looked up to see the moths had not reverted to there larval form, instead they continued to fight; some of the moths that had not been too damaged or completely obliterated, regenerated and entered the fray once again.

"That's not good," Cyborg said, still blasting away. The rest fell in to assist him.

"Any ideas?" Robin asked, readying his Bo.

"Moth-be-gone?" Beast Boy suggested seriously.

"I have an idea," Abel said, "Starfire, I'll need your help"

"What do you have in mind?" Raven asked.

"Moths are attracted to light, right?" he said, his hands glowing, "Follow me, Starfire," he flew straight up and shouted at the moths, while waving his glowing hands, "Oy, Come and get me!"

He flew up over the skyscrapers, and Starfire followed. Up above Abel quickly explained his plan to Starfire as the moths were starting to swarm them. Back on the street the Titans watched as the Abel and Starfire let themselves be surrounded by the moths.

"What are they doing?" Beast Boy asked, "That doesn't seem like much of a plan"

"Just watch," Raven said. They watched as the two teens allowed the moths to surround them; then, their hands glowing, they faced each other, and drew their hands back. The twothrust their hands forward and clasped their hands together. The ensuing explosion was more powerful and more blinding than the one Abel created in the quarry. When everyone recovered they looked up to see the moths obliterated, all but a few, which were dealt with by Starfire and Abel.

"That," Beast Boy started, mouth agape, "Was cool"

TT

Back at the Tower; the Titans had Abel surrounded; Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy held up a rubber chicken, a tutu, and blue wig.

"What are you guys doing?" Abel asked with a little panic in his voice.

"Initiation," Raven said with a smirk.

"Joy," Abel wasn't sure if he should smile or run away.


	9. Of Bonding and Hormones

"I will have, my boy. I will have you"

TT

It was nearly a week after Abel's initiation, and he still had not forgiven them. At least, he put on that façade; the truth is he had never been happier, although it didn't show much. Raven knew he had no grudge against them, and she figured everyone else knew, too. Raven had partially accepted her feelings for Robin and resolved to speak to him about them… eventually. Robin also planned to do the same thing. Eventually.

"So, you've got to be able to do some things Raven and Starfire can't," Beast Boy said, out of the Blue. This almost caught everyone off guard, but they had been thinking the same thing; they just never got around to asking.

"Hmm… actually now that you mention, there is," Abel responded, "Dark Bolts," he stated as if they all knew what he was talking about.

"Oh," Beast Boy drew out, "Huh?"

"Dark Bolts. I combine my demon powers with my star bolts. It's considerably more powerful and faster, I'm sure I'll get a chance to show you guys sometime"

"Why not right now?" Robin asked, "I mean, we never did show you our obstacle course"

"Sounds like fun"

TT

Outside the Tower, they had arrived at the obstacle course. Abel looked over the barren stretch of land incredulously.

"Well, I hope I don't trip on anything," he said in his monotone. The Titans realized, not too long ago, that he only spoke in a monotone when saying something sarcastic or ironic. Robin pushed a button on the control panel in front of him.

"Let's hope not," he said with a smirk, "Whenever you're ready," Abel turned toward the sea, when the ground started to shake violently. Walls shot out of the ground, surrounding him in a large room thirty feet long, twenty feet wide, and twenty feet high. Abel looked at Robin to see him, along with the other Titans, behind a pane of glass; by the looks of the glare of the sun. Abel turned when a blast narrowly missed him. He studied the robot; it looked like the ones Slade had, except for a steel blue spot instead of an orange one. Abel launched a star bolt at it and it melted in seconds. Abel looked at Robin with a 'you're-gonna-have-to-do-better-than-that' look.

Robin pressed another button and more blue-spotted Slade-bots appeared, along with larger versions. Abel's jaw dropped, but he didn't hesitate. He launched a barrage of silver star bolts at the droids, but when the smoke cleared, he saw he had only destroyed three out of nine of the small ones, and the large ones were left unscathed. Abel smirked; Robin asked for a demonstration. He sure as hell was going to get a demonstration. His right hand glowed silver and his left, black. He brought his hands close to together and made a motion like he was making a snowball. When the black and silver had blended into one ball, he drew his right hand back and jumped into the air, helping himself up with his powers. He then leaned back so he was parallel to the ground; he started spinning, and gaining speed. When he became a blur with a black and silver disc in orbit, he released it and it flew toward the machines with immeasurable speed. When it landed it bored through the robot it struck first then collided with the ground and detonated, when the smoke cleared, the Titans saw the robots had been destroyed, along the back half of the room. Abel stopped spinning and turned to the Titans behind him with an eyebrow raised. The Titans had looks of amazement, and Raven looked rather proud of her little brother. Beast Boy said something that Abel couldn't hear, but he could make out the movement of his lips: 'Dudes, I think we need a new obstacle course'

TT

Back in the Tower Cyborg, Robin and Beast Boy had resumed their game from before Abel's demonstration. Abel had declined the offer to join, saying he needed to meditate. Beast Boy gave Raven a 'you-two-really-are-related' look, who responded with a 'keep-it-up-and-I'll-stick-that-controller-somewhere-bad' look. She would never do it, but it convinced Beast Boy. Raven followed her brother out onto the roof, when she got there she saw him in his upside down position.

"Why do you do that?" she asked, apparently he hadn't heard her walk out, because he fell from his position and landed on his back, "Sorry"

"I have no idea," he said honestly, "It just sort of happens when I meditate"

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," Raven walked next to Abel and sat down; he sat down next to her. They faced the edge of the Tower and began chanting together.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos"

After about a minute, they started to drift upward, but continued their mantra, taking no notice.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos"

Raven had never felt so relaxed, so at peace, before. She felt light as feather, and noted that she was, in fact light as a feather; she also noticed she didn't need to concentrate as hard as she used to. They had been "on" the roof for another forty-five minutes, when the alarm sounded. Robin ran out of the stairway and was amazed to see the siblings floating ten feet in the air.

"Uh… trouble," he said hesitantly, not wanting to startle them lest they fall and hurt themselves. Instead they slowly opened their eyes and didn't seem surprised to see that Robin looked considerably shorter.

"What's up?" Abel asked, as if this were a common occurrence.

"Plasmus," Robin said regaining himself. The next comment, however, unnerved him and perhaps turned him on.

"Lead on, Wonder Boy," Raven said stretching and grinning teasingly at him. Robin led the way down the stairs, to the elevator, and to the garage where the others waited.

"Dude, what's up with Raven?" Beast Boy asked, being the first to notice Raven with a bounce in her step, "She's all bouncy!" in response Raven did the one thing no one thought she was capable of. She giggled. Abel had an impossibly big smile. Beast boy and Cyborg stepped back a little; still having vivid memories of their trip into Raven's mind. Even Starfire got worried when Raven giggled.

"They can explain later," said Robin, always ready to save the day; even from awkward moments such as this, "We have to stop Plasmus,"

They left the Tower; Raven, Abel, Beast Boy and Starfire taking to the air; Cyborg in the T-car and Robin on his R-cycle. Over the com-link, Robin explained that Plasmus was harassing citizens at the mall. Raven and Abel put on a burst of speed and left Starfire and Beast Boy in the proverbial dust. Raven was amazed at how much stronger she felt. She looked back to see Starfire and Beast Boy becoming smaller and smaller in the distance. She could tell that Beast Boy was baffled by her sudden show of power and emotion, even in his pterodactyl form. She looked at her brother flying next to her, who was smiling like a child. He looked at her and she would have smiled back, just as widely, had she not been smiling already. He laughed and sped up more, challenging her to a race. She accepted the challenge and the two of them arrived at the mall long before the others.

TT

Robin was only half paying attention to what he doing; barreling down the road at 150 mph. He was caught up in his thoughts about Raven and Abel. Mostly Raven.

'She giggled! Didn't chuckle, didn't laugh! _Giggled_! And what she said on the roof? "Lead on, Wonder Boy" she called me "Wonder Boy"! Not "Boy Wonder", "_Wonder Boy_" and I find my self not caring. I know would have throttled anyone else. But not Raven. She's special… and I'm on the wrong side of the road,' that last thought was a little out of place and brought Robin back to his speeding motorcycle, "Crap!" He quickly swerved back to the other lane and tried to focus, but was interrupted when he suddenly got a blast of wind from above; he looked up to see Raven and Abel racing to the mall, not just to get there in a hurry, but racing each other.

TT

When the two siblings arrived at the mall, they didn't hesitate. There was no time to wait for the others, they were too far away and it looked like Plasmus had yet to do any real damage, so they decided to try and stop before he did. Raven had explained to Abel what Plasmus was and how he was only human when he was asleep. They set out looking for Plasmus and found him easily enough, what with his being huge and purple. He was making his way to the bathroom with the intention of devouring the contents of the plumbing. Abel got a little sick when he saw this. Raven engulfed a few trash cans and hurled them at the big purple blob, where they got lodged. Abel got over his nausea and followed suit, firing his star bolts. The silver balls of energy blew Plasmus apart, but the pieces that were blown off, re-grew or reattached to the gooey mass.

"You never said he could do that!" said to his sister with annoyance.

"Watch out, he can regenerate," she reminded him as she began another barrage. Abel shook his head and continued on. It wasn't long until the other Titans arrived and joined the battle. Abel got too close to Plasmus and was engulfed in the "enormous booger"; as Beast Boy described him. The Titans were forced to take caution, lest they harm Abel in the process. After an hour of berating the enormous booger, they finally managed to knock him unconscious. As his body shrank back to normal size Abel was finally freed of his foul-tasting prison. He looked down at his once white shirt, which is now completely purple.

"I never really liked this shirt anyway," he said monotonously. He turned to the unconscious form, "Thanks, you gave me a good reason to get rid of it" he said, but obviously got no response other than a loud snore. He walked up to his sister.

"Anywhere to shop?" he asked retaining his monotone. Raven would have decked him where he stood, but she was too tired from the fight. She decided to get him back verbally.

"None that I can see"

The sarcasm and irony were completely lost on Beast Boy, who shouted, "Hello! We're in the _shopping_ mall!" Raven and Abel looked at him with looks of mock realization. He backed down, realizing the joke. Tuning him out, Raven handed her brother a twenty dollar bill.

"Go nuts. We can handle this," waving at the mess of purple glue.

"You spoil me, sis," he said as he turned to leave. Starfire was watching him with interest.

'Friend Abel is quite attractive, when covered with the "Plasmus goop",' she thought. She wasn't sure where the thought came from or why she was thinking it, but she didn't dwell on it. She went to help the others clean up and repair the section of the mall.

TT

As Abel walked out of the store with a new shirt; a black version of his old one, he noticed the Titans had left. He decided he would stay here awhile, and do some exploring. He left a message on the others' communicators, and set out on his expedition. He walked aimlessly around,looking intobook stores, toy stores, video game stores, and clothing stores. He paid particular attention to a shop that had some pretty dark objects. It contained spell books, some ingredients, and statuettes. This was one of the few he entered; he had no intention of buying anything, especially since all the money he had was change from the twenty Raven had given him.

'Besides, all this stuff is bogus,' he thought walking into the dimly lit shop, it had a strange scent to it. 'This is awfully familiar'. He proceeded into the store, glancing at things on the shelves and occasionally stopping to look at something closely, or squat to look at something on the bottom shelves.

"Looking for anything in particular?"

Abel turned at the voice; he had forgotten that shops usually came with clerks. The girl was a little pale, her hair was blonde with blood-red highlights; her shirt was black with a bloody "A" on it, the symbol for anarchy, and she had on black eye shadow and a few too many piercings. She was your stereotypical goth.

"No, thanks" he replied. The girl popped her bubblegum. She looked him up and down.

"Let me know if you need anything," she said, and slowly licked her lips. Abel raised his eyebrow.

"Okay" he said hesitantly, not sure what to make of the gesture. He walked around the small shop, occasionally glancing at the desk to see the clerk still watching him. It wasn't the attention that bothered him, it was the fact that she looked like she was nineteen or in her early twenties. He was only fourteen for God's sake!

'I wonder if Boy Wonder has to put up with this kind of thing,' he thought as he walked out of the shop. He glanced back to see the girl look a little disappointed. 'I don't envy him,' he added as an afterthought. On his way to the food court he also noticed a few heads turn in his direction, even if the bodies had another arm around them. 'Holy Crap! This place is the hormone _capital_ of the _world_! Some of these people shouldn't even have those kinds of thoughts!' he arrived at the food court, and went to a place serving Italian food. He got his food and set out to find a table; somewhere secluded and in the shadows. Before he could find his sanctuary, however, he felt a sting on his butt. He looked back to see a girl, about Raven's age, hanging out with her friends. They were giggling like girls, as they turned out to be; the girl that had made the move on him winked. Abel nervously smiled back and continued walking. He was inches away from his haven when it happened again. He turned and saw a woman in her forties; she was smiling and licking her lips. This unnerved and completely scared the crap out of Abel. He rushed to the entrance of the mall, when he was outside he teleported back to the Tower.

He must have been panting when he arrived at the living room, because everyone looked at him. Starfire was first to speak, rushing to his side.

"Friend Abel, what has transpired?"

"Yeah dude, you look like you were trying to escape a mob of girls"

"You don't know the half of it!" he said as his breathing leveled out. He noticed Raven had a knowing smile, but dismissed it, thinking she was just enjoying his torment. "I was walking around the mall, and every; _every,_ female in there was staring at me."

"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Cyborg stated suspiciously.

"Yeah man, I'd kill to have girls give that kind of attention," Beast Boy added with disbelief.

"You would have to, man," before Beast Boy could do anything, Abel interrupted.

"That's fine and all. I don't mind the attention, it's just that some of these girls were married or had boyfriends. Some that were close enough pinched me! I looked into their eyes. There was no shame! Only lust!" then he noticed Raven was grinning like Christmas had come early. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," he said with so much venom in his voice, he could have made his father cower.

"Actually, I am. And I think I know what's going on," her smile got, if possible, wider. The Titans were scared. Very scared.

"Care to enlighten me?"

"It's your blood. The mix of Tamaranian blood and demon blood causes you to attract the attention of the opposite sex when you hit puberty." No one noticed Starfire blush. "You're not the first with this mixture of blood."

"Who else?"

"I don't know who else, but I know you're not the first," Raven seemed to expect him to know this. "The hormonal spell has no affect on Tamaranians or siblings, of course," she added when she noticed Starfire shying away. Starfire looked at her with a look of relief.

"When does this phenomenon come to an end?" she asked innocently.

"You never know," Raven responded, "It could end tomorrow, next week, or right now."

"Great. I'm going to get something to eat," we walked to the kitchen. 'Had Starfire been blushing?'


	10. Nightclub Confessions

"The pieces are all falling into place. I will have you, Abel"

TT

The next few days were packed with tension and awkward moments. Robin and Raven head resolved to admit their feelings, still not realizing they reciprocated. Abel's hormonal boost was coming to a deadly peak. Starfire was acting different around Abel. Cyborg and Beast Boy were caught in the middle of it all, helpless and confused.

"Look man, I think somethin's goin' on," Cyborg said to Beast Boy when they were alone in the living room. Abel was arranging his room, with the help of Starfire. Robin was in the gym and Raven was on the roof.

"Yeah Dude," the shape shifter responded, "Did you notice Starfire's been acting strange lately?"

"Yeah… wait, no. I was talking about Rae and Fearless Leader… What about Starfire?"

"Oh yeah, she's been all shy and stuff around Abel, and when I asked her if she knew where he was, she was all like, 'I do not where Friend Abel is!'" he said, doing his best impression of Starfire; which Cyborg thought was pretty bad. "Wait… What about Rae and Robin?"

"Man, I don't know, but I know there's a little 'sumpin-sumpin' goin' down," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Dude, don't do that. Do you think we should… you know… hook 'em up?"

"What? No way! Do you have _any _idea what Raven would do if we tried?" Cyborg couldn't believe Beast Boy was suggesting that. Well he could believe it; he just couldn't believe it. "Not to mention Robin!"

"Okay, okay, it was just a thought. You don't have to flip."

"Unless…" Cyborg said letting his voice trail, as the gears I his head started turning, "Beast Boy, you're brilliant!"

"I am?"

"Well… no. But it's a good idea!"

"What is?

"You know what I'm talkin' about," Cyborg said wickedly

"No, I… oh…" Beast Boy realized, rubbing his hands together. An evil grin spread across their lips, "We're gonna hook-up Abel and Star"

"Yes… No. Dude! Raven and Robin! C'mon!" Cyborg shouted, cuffing Beast Boy.

"Ow! Dude! I thought that was a bad idea?"

"The way you were thinking, maybe. My way is foolproof."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Clubbin'"

"Maybe your way is better," Beast Boy said quietly.

"What was your way?"

"Uh… Brainwashing"

"Wow"

"Yeah…"

The two sat in silence for a while, forgetting their paused game. Then there was a crash and a yell. It was Abel's voice, and he didn't sound too pleased.

"Starfire!" his accusation was followed by another crash. And Starfire soon came soaring down the hallway. She flew into the living room with a paint roller in her hand and paused in anticipation, and sure enough Abel entered the hallway with a look of mock anger. Cyborg and Beast Boy knew it wasn't real, because if it was he would have four eyes, like Raven. They soon saw the source of his mock-anger; his shirt had a big pink stripe on it from a paint roller. When Abel flew into the living room, also carrying a paint roller; Starfire squealed and flew around the room in an attempt to avoid the mixed-blood. Abel was just as agile in the air as he was on foot and had no trouble keeping up with the alien princess.

"C'mere your highness," he growled as he rebounded off the wall to catch Starfire after she made a sharp turn. Robin and Raven walked in having heard the ruckus and soon found the source. As they walked in Starfire had been caught by Abel and now had a blue stripe on her uniform. It was now Abel's turn to evade. The game of cat-and-mouse went on for ten minutes, no one bothering to stop them, enjoying it too much. Eventually it came to an awkward halt. Abel, covered in pink paint, was now being chased by Starfire, now completely blue, teleported to the far side of the room facing away from Starfire. She took this opportunity to fly out of one of the many doors that led to the room. Abel turned and saw that she was nowhere to be found. He looked at his friends, who shrugged, deciding to go along with Starfire's plan. Abel glared at them and turned around just in time to be tackled by Starfire. The two of them hit the floor and Starfire landed on top of Abel. She grinned wickedly, but found herself on the bottom, as Abel switched their position with a twist of his hip. Now Abel grinned; then he saw Starfire blushing and noticed the position they were in. When Starfire had pinned Abel, she was straddling his stomach and when Abel flipped them, he ended up between her spread legs.

"Dude, there is _definitely_ something going on with those two," Cyborg whispered to Beast Boy.

"Uh…" Abel stammered as he helped Starfire up. Starfire stood; her face was bright red instead of orange. Seeing an opportunity, Cyborg voiced his idea.

"Hey guys, lets go to a club!" 'Maybe we can get those two together, too'

"That sounds like a great idea!" Robin said. 'Perfect, I can use this as a chance to talk to Raven!'

"That sounds like fun," Raven said sarcastically. 'Yes! Now I can talk to Robin!'

"Uh… that sounds great," Abel forced out. 'Interesting how red one can get when their skin is orange,'

"Yes, I shall go and prepare!" Starfire ran out of the room, still blushing. Everyone looked at Abel, who followed suit. Everyone burst out laughing when Abel left. Raven was able to join in; her meditation sessions with her brother allowed her to loosen up quite a bit.

'He wasn't jealous at all!' she thought, ecstatic. 'This is great!'

'That might have bothered me weeks ago, but not anymore.' Robin mused. 'This is great'

'Dude, This is gonna rock!'

'Oh man, I can't wait!'

TT

An hour and a half later everyone was ready. Starfire was still in her uniform; it being casual enough to pass for street clothes. Robin had on a black button-down with ice blue flames, khaki cargo pants and black and red shoes and his mask. Abel had managed to find a shirt like his old one, and also wore his khakis and his boots; he had all of his belts in place as well. Beast Boy had on a dark green shirt and blue baggy jeans. Cyborg had managed to find clothes that fit him; a silver button-down and black jeans. Raven was still in her leotard and belt, but had on a pair of black hip-hugging jeans over it and a dark blue overcoat replaced her cloak.

The Titans set out to the club. It was a new place called Club Knox. Robin was on his R-cycle, so that Abel would fit in the car. He wished Raven could have been on the bike with him. In the car Raven watched Robin, longing to hold onto his waist on the bike.

'Maybe on the way back,' she smiled a little.

TT

When they arrived at the club, the sight stunned them. I was a huge building; the neon sign shined 'Club Knox' in bold red letters. The music could be heard from inside; it sounded like Rammstein, Abel pointed out. As they entered the building, Abel confirmed that it was in fact Rammstein, and explained that they were a German heavy metal band. As they walked farther into the club, Raven's courage was inexplicably crushed. She surmised it to be because of all the pretty girls in the building, though they all had their attention on Abel, who mentioned something about a paper bag. Raven found a booth and sulked; she was startled when she heard a voice.

"Would you like to dance?"

It was Robin. Robin was asking her to dance. Not Starfire. Her. She hesitated.

"I'm not sure… I don't dance much. I'm not sure how good I'll be," she responded shyly.

"I'm sure you can't be that bad. Just do what you feel is natural, and I'll help you if you need it."

"Okay…" she hadn't expected her own response and neither had Robin.

"Really? I mean… let's go" he held out his hand. She took it and he helped her up and led her to the dance floor. She was wondering how Starfire would react, but when she saw her dancing with Abel, her courage was quickly revived. When they found a spot of the dance floor that wasn't too crowded, Robin stopped and turned to her.

"Okay, uh… I guess you could follow them," he said gesturing to everyone on the floor. They were ridiculously close to one another. "O-or not." Raven smiled and closed her eyes, getting the feel of the music. It wasn't really meant for dancing to; more like jumping up and down and banging your head, but she soon found a way to compensate. Raven was amazed at how fast she picked it up, and noticed Robin was too when she started to sway her hips. She raised her hands above her head and let go of her worries and shyness. She didn't flinch when Robin put his hands on her hips and turned around to face him.

'Oh. My. God!' he thought, smiling at the dark beauty in front of him. She pressed herself closer to him and they began to dance in unison. When the song ended they went to the booth Raven was at earlier. They sat down and ordered drinks.

"That was… fun," Raven said honestly. Robin noted no sarcasm in her tone and saw her blush a little.

"Yeah," he said. Another song started up and Beast Boy came over to the table.

"Hey, why aren't you guys out there?" he shouted over the music.

"We…" Raven began, her blush deepening, "We just were"

"Oh," then it dawned on him, "Together?"

"Yes," Robin said, "Do something about it"

"Nah, I'm good!" Beast Boy retreated onto the dance floor to find Cyborg. Robin watched him disappear into the crowd.

"Wanna have another go?" he asked

"No," she began; Robin's face fell and she hurriedly finished, "Let's just… talk"

"Okay," Robin smiled. Then he grew serious, "There is something I've been meaning to say for a while…" This caught Raven off guard.

"What?"

"I … I think I'm in love with you…" This threw Raven off her feet, or at least it would have, had she been standing. Robin looked up and saw her shocked expression, he sighed and said, "Sorry"

"Don't be." It was Robin's turn to be shocked. The soothing tone in her voice unsettled him a little, "What about Starfire?"

"Starfire? You mean that Starfire?" he said pointing toward the dance floor. Starfire was still dancing with Abel, and having the time of her life. She had danced with Robin before, but not the way she was with Abel. This made Raven smile; the thought that she might actually have chance with Robin. The next statement confirmed her wildest dreams. "I don't think I ever saw her as more than a friend. I thought she may have had feelings for me, but…" he paused waving his hand at the erotic scene, "I guess not"

"I love you, too." She got up and walked to Robin was on the bench. She sat down and kissed him on the lips. Robin was stunned when she kissed him and disappointed when she pulled away.

"Why so short?" he asked. She leaned forward again and whispered in his ear.

"There's more where that came from at the Tower," she pulled back with a seductive smile. Robin pulled her close to him and they sat there enjoying each other's company.


	11. Sharing

Back at the Tower, all was well. Raven and Robin had admitted their feelings for each other, and it seemed like Abel and Starfire had developed something as well. Cyborg and Beast Boy, managing to find girls who were not seeing someone or entranced in Abel's unintentional spell, had dates for the coming weekend. Raven and Robin were in Raven's room. They were embracing each other and occasionally breaking the peace with a quick kiss or a sensual remark.

"So, when did you realize you had feelings for me?" Robin finally asked. Raven looked up at him from her position on his lap and kissed him before responding.

"I… think when crime had hit its peak. Remember how I had been missing some meditation? That allowed two new emotions to manifest; that's when I had a feeling I felt something for you. Then after my first meditation session with Abel, I was sure," Robin looked at her. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"What new emotions?" he asked.

"Well, Love, of course, and…" she responded, letting her voice trail.

"Of course. And…"

"Lust," Raven's pale complexion turned beet red.

"Lust?" Robin asked suggestively. "And what kinds of thoughts does she put into that beautiful head of yours?" Raven leaned forward and kissed Robin for the fourteenth time since they got back. Not that it bothered him or anything. She lay down on her bed and started fiddling with her leotard.

"Maybe I should just show you?" she said seductively.

"I have no problem with that…" he responded as he leaned over her and kissed her passionately on the lips. She moaned at the feeling. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. She was a little hesitant at first, but noticed that nothing was exploding and pulled Robin on top of her. She deepened the kiss and moaned again. She broke the bliss, causing Robin to look at her quizzically. When he saw her removing her leotard, he smirked and kissed her again.

"I love you"

"I love you too, Wonder Boy"

TT

"Do you hear moaning?" Cyborg asked, as he paused the game he and Beast Boy were playing.

"Nope. Now c'mon, I'm kicking your butt," Beast Boy said. It baffled Cyborg how he could have the sharpest senses and not hear it. There was another moan.

"There it is again! You can't tell me you don't hear that!" he looked at Abel snuggling with Starfire on the other end of the couch. Abel shrugged and looked down at Starfire, who also shrugged. Everyone looked at Cyborg like he was going crazy. He strained his ears but heard nothing more. He stood there for a minute longer until Beast Boy took matters into his own hands and un-paused the game. No one took notice of the way Abel's arm was casually thrown over the back of the couch. No one noticed it directed toward Raven's room. No one noticed it glowing black, sound-proofing her room.

'She owes me big time for this'

TT

The morning sun seeped through Raven's window and onto her face. She slowly woke and remembered what had happened the night before. She turned to where she remembered Robin falling asleep, found he wasn't there. Had it been a dream? Her fears were destroyed when Robin walked out of the bathroom.

"Morning, sleepy head," he said.

"Good morning, Wonder Boy," she responded as she stretched. She had put emphasis on 'Wonder', Robin noted as he walked over and kissed her on the forehead.

"C'mon, let's go to breakfast," he said, pulling on his pants and shirt from the previous night. Raven got out of bed and found a clean leotard. As they walked down the hall, hand-in-hand, Raven smelled her herbal tea. It was particularly strong.

"Abel must be up," Robin observed, and sure enough, when they walked into the kitchen Abel was sitting at the island counter drinking a painfully strong cup of tea.

"Why so strong?" Raven asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Your little all-nighter kept me up all night," he responded, quite cranky. Raven blushed.

"You all heard that?"

"Everyone, but Beast Boy, apparently. I had to sound- proof your room, so it wouldn't bother them. Unfortunately for me; thanks to our little mental connection, I heard everything. I must say Boy Wonder, for someone who looks like a traffic light most of the time; you've got a hell of a lot of stamina," Abel said. This made Robin blush. Abel's mug exploded. "That wasn't necessary sis."

"That wasn't me." They looked at Robin who shrugged.

"What?"

TT

"Here! I found it!" Abel said, following the passage with his finger, "Let's see… when a demon and a non-demon… blah-blah-blah…. Emotional bond… blah-blah-blah… make love… blah-blah… oh…"

"What?" Robin asked eagerly. One of Raven's candles melted.

"It says 'When a demon; or half demon, and a non-demon make love, and there is a strong emotional bond between the two; a portion of the demon or half demon's abilities will be transferred into their lover'," he said with disbelief.

"So, you mean when we…" Robin's voice trailed off. He was a little uncomfortable talking about this to his lover's younger brother.

"Had sex?" Abel finished for him without hesitation. This caused Robin and Raven to blush, and another of Raven's possessions was destroyed.

"Yeah…"

"No. It's more than that. Having sex is different from making love. Making love is with an emotional connection. Having sex is usually just for kicks." It amazed Robin how someone could so blatantly mention sex three times in a row without hesitation or laughing.

"So, now he shares my powers?"

"Yes, and a mental connection; which also connects him to me," Abel replied matter-of-factly. He turned to Robin, "Now you have to meditate"

"Nothing new; I do it as part of my martial arts training, anyway."

"Good. Should we tell the others what happened?" Raven and Robin shifted uncomfortably. "About the powers thing," he finished.

"They would probably figure it out soon, anyway…" Robin started, "but not the other thing…"

"I doubt Starfire's going to be as bothered about it as you think. Cyborg may take it pretty strong. Now, Beast Boy… I guess we'll have to see…" He looked at the other two. He was about to walk out of the room, when Robin stopped him.

"Wait, I sensed something when you said that about Starfire," he paused and looked at Raven.

"I got that too, what happened last night?"

"Uh, well… nothing like you guys… but… I'll tell you, she's not as innocent as she puts on…" He said with a forced laugh. He looked at Robin, who was wearing annoying smirk.

"Let's go…" Raven stepped in.

TT

"Dude! You did "it" with Raven? Sweet!" Beast Boy paused noticing the glares he was getting from Raven and Robin, "I mean…"

"You had sex… with Raven…" Cyborg looked pretty angry. Abel stepped in to save the love-birds.

"No. It's more than that. Emotional connection and everything… it'll take a while to explain." He said hurriedly. Cyborg processed this, and then his face lit up.

"That's what the moaning was! But wait… I only heard two moans… are you that bad?" he asked Robin.

"No!" Raven blurted and blushed.

"There was plenty of moaning… only I could hear it, though," Abel said, "I sound-proofed their room with my powers. My telepathic connection to Raven allowed me to hear _everything_…" he shuddered as he said that.

"Dude…" Beast Boy said, wearing a look one would get if they found something gooey on the bottom of their shoe. Abel looked utterly humiliated and would have been traumatized if it weren't for his training.

"Starfire, you haven't said anything…" Robin said, a little worried; she looked up, her eyes glowing.

"You" she said glaring at Robin, "And _you_," she said turning her deadly gaze on Raven. Then her eyes stopped glowing and she put on an incredibly big smile. "I am so happy for you both! You have found the one you love and have shared in the ritual of Love Making!" she pulled them into a bear hug and shook them violently in her glee. Robin and Raven blushed and something in the kitchen exploded. Starfire stopped hugging them and everyone looked at Raven, but it was Robin who was blushing.

"Oh yeah, Robin and Raven now share the same powers, and they now have a telepathic connection, which also connects Robin to me," Abel said as if it was common knowledge. No one understood how he did that. Robin turned to the others.

"You guys are okay with this?"

"Totally, dude"

"Hey man, you're the leader"

"It is fine, besides I believe I may be… 'taken'?" Starfire blushed when she said this and glanced at Abel. Since she was the least subtle of any of them, everyone caught it. They all looked at Abel, who was smirking.

"I'm not saying a word," he said in his monotone.

TT

"The time has come," Slade smiled behind his mask. "You're mine, Abel"


	12. Divide and Conquer

The weeks passed by without much trouble, so the Titans had a lot of time to themselves. Raven and Robin had been on six dates, Starfire was starting to show a side the Titans had never seen, and Cyborg and Beast Boy had managed to secure dates with the girls they had met at the club. Abel's hormones were calming down, so it was safe to bring the two girls over without them drooling over him and Starfire throwing them out in a fit of jealousy. The two were coming over today, so Cyborg was rushing to straighten up the living room. Surprisingly, Beast Boy was helping. The other four Titans watched with amused looks on their faces. Robin had reasonable control of his newly achieved powers and would use them to knock things over as Cyborg and Beast Boy dashed around trying to make the place relatively presentable. The two were too absorbed in their work to notice that they had picked up the fake bush that they inexplicably owned twelve times. Robin was about to knock it over again when the doorbell rang.

"I'll see who it is," Abel said as he got up to look at the computer screen. In front of the camera there were two girls; a blonde and a brunette, the blonde was staring into the camera and using it as a mirror. Abel grinned wickedly. He decided he would make a bad first impression. He greeted them, but in a voice that the others could not copy. He had a way of making his voice deep and rumbling. It scared Beast Boy the first time he did it. "Who goes there?" he rumbled. The blonde girl jumped back from the camera.

"Uh… do we have the right place?" This made Abel laugh. He replied in his normal voice.

"How many giant T's are there in this city?"

"Uh…"

"Never mind. Come on in… at your own risk" he said as he pushed he button that opened the door. "To your left is the elevator. Four floors up; door right across the way." He turned from the computer and found Beast Boy and Cyborg glaring at him murderously. Beast Boy was the first to speak, his voice high.

"Dude!"

"You should have stopped me," he said with a grin. The bell of the elevator rang. Abel's grin widened and he pointed at the door. It opened and the two girls walked in cautiously.

"See what you did," Cyborg whispered threateningly.

"You should have stopped me"

"Ladies," Beast Boy said as he walked up to the girls, "welcome to Titans Tower!" he indicated the living room.

"Hi Beast Boy," the blonde said with a smile. Beast Boy was about to kiss her hand, speaking in a ridiculous French accent, when she pulled the brunette girl away and whispered a little loudly to her.

"Oh my god! It's Abel and Robin!" she said in a high pitched voice.

"And Beast Boy and Cyborg," the brunette replied sternly. "Besides look at the way Robin's holding Raven. And Abel's probably with Starfire or something!"

"I know… but it's Abel and Robin!"

"But we came here for Cyborg and Beast Boy"

Having heard all of this Abel and Robin looked at each other and grinned. Raven tweaked Robin's ear and Starfire slapped Abel on the back of the head. Cyborg and Beast Boy couldn't believe what they were hearing. At least the brunette seemed to have her head in the right place.

"So, introduce us to your friends," Abel said, rubbing the back of his head. Cyborg glared at him, but did so anyway.

"That's Charity," he said pointing to the blonde, "and that's Stephanie," he indicated the brunette. He took Stephanie's hand. "Shall we?" As the four teens left though the front door, Charity looked over her shoulder and winked at Abel.

"I thought the hormone thing was over"

"Maybe she just thinks you're cute," Raven said, "although I can't imagine why." Abel glared at her, but Starfire stepped in.

"I can," she said and kissed him. Robin looked at Raven and smiled, they got up and teleported to Raven's room. Abel and Starfire were alone in the living room.

"Perhaps we could follow suit?" Starfire asked. Abel smiled.

"Why not stay here?"

"That is acceptable," she leaned forward and kissed him again, she broke the kiss and led him to the couch. Abel sat down and Starfire sat on top of him and their lips met again. Starfire deepened the kiss, running her tongue over Abel's lips. He opened his mouth, allowing her access and moved so that she was on lying on her back on the couch and he was on top of her. Starfire decided to gain control and rolled over, but the couch was too small and they fell to the floor; Abel taking the worst of it. He groaned from the impact and Starfire broke the kiss, realizing they were no longer on the couch. "Are you injured?"

"I'm fine, the ground broke my fall," he said.

"Thank you for cushioning mine," she said with a smile.

"Anytime"

"I love this planet"

"I'm pretty fond of it myself"

"I love you, as well." Abel didn't say anything; Starfire took this as a bad sign and moved to stand. Abel garbed her arm and kissed her again. This kiss felt different to Starfire; it was warm and caring, not heated and passionate like the one they had just shared. This kiss was a loving kiss.

"I'm pretty fond of you myself,"

TT

This time Raven had her room sound-proofed with her own powers. She sashayed to where Robin lay on her bed. She sat on top of him and kissed him.

"What did you have in mind this time, Wonder Boy?" In response he kissed her.

"Why don't we start with that and move on from there"

"Sounds good to me," she replied as she kissed him again. The kiss started out soft, but gradually increased in ferocity. Robin sat up with Raven still on top of him without breaking the kiss. They separated for air and stared at each other.

"I love your eyes," Robin said as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"I would love to love yours." Robin nodded and took her hands in his; he lifted them up to his mask.

"For your eyes only." With that he placed her hands on his mask and let go. She peeled the mask away and looked into his stunning blue eyes. She smiled and kissed him again.

TT

"Now, Jinx," Slade ordered. He had sent Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth out as a lure. They would bring the Titans to him, and he would have his prizes; Robin and Abel. He watched as the three H.I.V.E. students moved to the streets of Jump City and began their task; simply making a lot of noise and destroying things. Hopefully they wouldn't screw up too badly. Soon enough the Titans showed up, but there were only four; Cyborg and Beast Boy were not present. No matter. They were not needed. The four key pieces to his plan were arriving to save the day. Nothing could go wrong.

TT

Cyborg and Beast boy were not back from their dates yet. This left Robin, Raven, Abel, and Starfire alone in the Tower. Robin had issued a challenge on the Gamestation to Abel, who accepted after some thought. Currently, Robin was having his butt served to him by the boy who was as new to video games as Starfire was. Robin stared in disbelief as his car tumbled off of the track and exploded into a ball of pixilated flames.

"No way," he sighed.

"You went boom. Does that mean I won?" Abel asked with mock innocence. Robin glared at him with one of Raven's 'end-of-days' glares. The resemblance and Robin's annoyance made Abel laugh. Robin was about to start again when the alarm went off. His communicator followed. He answered it and was met by Cyborg's face.

"We'll be right there!"

"No. you and Beast Boy stay there. We'll handle it."

"You sure, dude?"

"We've got the power of three demons and two Tamaranians, I'm pretty sure we can handle it. Besides it's the H.I.V.E., how hard could it be?"

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks Rob, and give Gizmo a good kick in the ass for me. Cyborg, out"

"Titans, Go!"

TT

They exited the portal created by Abel and stepped forward. They were greeted by an annoyingly high pitched voice.

"Glad you could join us, Losers! Where's tinman and the grass stain?" Gizmo shouted at them as they stopped smashing stuff. Jinx and Mammoth fell in behind him.

"Who's the new guy?" Jinx asked.

"I would like you to meet Abel, my brother," Raven replied coolly.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," he said, his eyes glowing. 'Can we beat them into the sidewalk now, Boy Wonder?' he projected.

'Knock yourself out,' he replied. Abel launched a barrage of star bolts at the three villains. Starfire followed suit, adding her barrage of green to his of silver.

"If you were related wouldn't he have the same powers?" Mammoth asked no one in particular, but Abel responded anyway.

"Ask, and you shall receive," he said as he surrounded two streetlamps with his aura and berated the behemoth with them both; eventually he managed to beat him into unconsciousness. The other two H.I.V.E students were stunned at his show of power, but did not hesitate long. Jinx moved to engage Raven as Robin and Abel went to Gizmo.

"You still fight like a boy"

"I try"

"You know, he's kinda cute"

"I really hadn't noticed"

"I'd like to get my hands on him"

"He is taken," was Starfire's shout as she blasted the pink-haired girl and rammed into her with her shoulder. Jinx was sent flying into the nearby building, "by me!" As jinx recovered from the blow, she froze Raven and Starfire with a wave of her hand.

"Now, Gizmo!" she shouted. The short boy in the jumpsuit hit one of many buttons on his arm and a gun-like gadget shot out of his backpack. It aimed at the four teens individually and fired. The darts each hit their mark and the Titans soon succumbed to the sedative. Abel was the last to go down, firing one last star bolt at Gizmo as he hit the ground. He heard a dull thud and nothing more as darkness engulfed him.

TT

"Yo! We're home!" Cyborg shouted as he barged through the door. He stopped at the sight that greeted him.

"Where is everybody?" Beast Boy asked as he walked into the half robot. "Dude, what's-" he stopped when he saw Raven and Starfire unconscious on the couch. Cyborg shook them awake; they sat up dazed.

"What happened?" Beast Boy asked.

"Where's Robin?" Raven shouted as she realized where they were, "and Abel. Where's my brother?"

"Calm down, Rea. We just found you like this. We have no idea where they are," Cyborg said. Starfire sat up and looked around; she was still groggy from the sedatives and stood up, ready to fight. "Whoa, calm down Star! You were hit with a sedative, so you may be a little groggy." Starfire groaned and sat down, holding her head.

"Oh… my head…"

"Here," Beast Boy said, offering her a bottle of Aspirin and a glass of water, "take two." She took them and opened the bottle; dumping two pills into her hand. She put them in her mouth and drank the water. As her head stopped swimming and her vision cleared she noticed something were she had been lying. She picked it up and stared at it.

"What is it, Starfire," Cyborg asked. She turned around and held up the black and orange badge; the "S" in the center taunted the others as they stared in disbelief.

"_Slade_"

TT

Abel struggled to his hands and knees, his brain thrashing around in his head. He waited a minute before standing and when he did he saw he was in the same room he had been in a month ago. He looked around and saw Robin sitting on the cot, glaring at the wall. Abel shakily stood up.

"Ow"

"You all right?"

"Yeah of course, I just said "ow" because it was the first thing that popped into my head"

"Whatever. Any idea where we are?"

"Slade." At that moment the door opened and Slade entered, as if on cue. "Well, speak of the Devil."

"I'm glad you have finally awakened," Slade said, ignoring the remark, "We have much work to do.

"What do you want with us?"

Well, isn't it obvious, Robin? I want you, both of you, as my apprentices"

"What makes you think we'll work for you?" without a word, Slade turned and left, waving at the boys to follow him. They did so cautiously, arriving at the room Slade entered. Abel found it to be the room he was in when he was thrown out of the hellish domain. "Well, this explains it all."

'Shut it, Abel'

'Get out of my head. Wait, don't use your powers. Slade might not know about them'

'He might. I used them when we were in the room'

'Oh well. Don't use them, just in case'

'Duh'

"I have implanted the same nano-probes I usedbefore, Robin. If you do not work for me, I will kill them," Slade said indicating two screens. They showed Raven and Starfire unconscious on the couch of the Titan's living room.

"What about Cyborg and Beast Boy?"

"I will kill them too, but I only need these two. I know I will have a stronger grip on you if I take them."

'We have no choice. We have to work for him,' Robin projected.

'I know. Bastard! My sister _and_ my girlfriend!'

'Calm down. We'll break free eventually. I did it once, I can do it again'

'I hope so'

"So, boys; what's it going to be? Will you work for me? Or watch them die?"

"We'll do whatever you say…"

"Good"


	13. Secure Peace, Prepare for War

Starfire sat on the couch with her hands over her eyes. She felt someone's hands rest on her back.

"Abel?" she asked, her voice croaking from crying

"No, Star, I'm sorry," Raven replied. She understood how she felt. When she heard a noise in her room she had thought it was Robin, but it was only one of her books exploding from her emotions, "We'll get them back. Robin escaped before, and now he's got my brother with him. Trust me."

"I trust you Friend Raven." The alarm broke the un-peaceful silence. Raven ran to the computer and saw that it was Slade; or Robin and Abel. Cyborg and Beast Boy ran into the living room.

"Who is it?"

"Slade," Raven replied with disgust. Starfire's eyes glowed blinding green, and Cyborg and Beast Boy were a little worried about their friends, but more worried about what would happen to Slade when they got their hands on him.

TT

Abel and Robin stood in front of Slade in their black spandex and titanium armor. Slade had installed a monitor on Abel's suit; it was designed to let him know when Abel was using his telepathic abilities to contact Raven. Abel had noticed it and figured out what it was for and warned Robin about it before putting it on.

"Now, on to business; your first target is the art gallery," Slade announced, clicking the screens on to show the art gallery.

"Art theft?" Abel asked, 'That's devious'

"I can read your thoughts now, Abel, so I suggest you control yourself. Or else," he raised the trigger in demonstration, "No, not art theft, an announcement. I want the city to know of your choice, your betrayal. You will not tell them that I am controlling you. You will accept their reaction and do nothing about it. Or I will destroy your little girlfriends."

"Fine"

"Good, now go." Abel opened a portal and he and Robin stepped through, he turned to Slade before closing it and glared at him. The glare might have melted Slade's pathetic face if he weren't hiding like a coward behind his mask. Abel closed the portal. When the portal opened again they stepped out in front of the art gallery. He looked at Robin, who raised his arm, aiming the blaster attached to it at the doors. Abel nodded and readied his star bolts. They blasted the doors and the alarm went off. They stood there in sorrowful wait for their former friends to arrive. The police arrived first, but were quickly dealt with. They resumed their waiting, and readied themselves when the T-car arrived pulled up to the court yard.

TT

When the Titans opened the car doors they were shocked at the carnage that had taken place. The decorative concrete blocks were all knocked over or destroyed, at least forty police officers were incapacitated, and Robin and Abel stood there in the middle of it all, waiting for them.

'Please, don't make us do this,' Raven projected to Abel. The only response she got was a glare, 'Robin, please!' another glare.

"Please friends, do not force us to harm you!"

"Look dudes, we don't have to do this!"

"It's no use, Titans," it was Slade's voice from the direction of Robin and Abel. The voice they despised was coming from a communicator on Robin, "They are working for me now. There is nothing you can do about it."

"We can stop you!" Raven shouted defiantly.

"You can try, but would you really hurt your only brother? And your lover?" Raven knew she never would and knew that Starfire would never do it. She stepped back and looked at her brother and lover. She thought she saw a pang of regret on their faces, but it disappeared when Slade spoke again, "Now, Abel." Abel hesitated, but not long. He drew back his glowing hands and fired the charged star bolts at their feet. The ground exploded around them and they sunk through the concrete. They lay there unconscious as Abel and Robin left through another portal. As they disappeared, Abel mouthed an apology.

'I'm sorry'


	14. Public Enemy

Raven opened her eyes and found herself in the crater Abel had created. She sat up and looked towards her friends as they sat up as well. They looked at each other and wordlessly made there way out of the crater. When the stood up and looked around, they were surrounded by people. The people stared at the Titans in disbelief; their heroes were knocked unconscious by a single blast. As reporters began to swarm them, Raven opened a portal and stepped through it, her friends followed. The doorway closed and the citizens were left to ponder what had happened.

TT

As soon as she stepped out of the portal, Raven wept freely. She took no heed of the destruction she was causing. Starfire broke down next to her and Cyborg and Beast Boy watched in mournful silence. Beast Boy turned on the television and switched to the news channel. It was no surprise that the report of Robin and Abel'sactions was already on the news.

"This just in, we have reportsthat Teen Titans leader Robin and their newest member, Abel, have turned against them and are now working for Slade," a picture taken at the scene appeared on screen, it showed Robin and Abel standing in the destruction, "The former Titans have been declared public enemy number two by the mayor of Jump City. City officials urge you to stay away from them and immediately contactthe policeif they are sighted. The city-" Beast Boy turned off the television and turned to the others.

"What do we do now?"

"I'm not sure, man…" Cyborg responded. Raven stood and turned to leave. "You alright?"

"I'll be fine…"

"Star?"

"I… I do not know." She turned and walked out behind Raven. The two remaining Titans stood in silence, and then decided to retire to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

TT

"Very good, boys, I'm impressed. I didn't think you had it in you, well done," Slade congratulated as Robin and Abel stepped through the door, "especially you Abel." Abel leaped at him, but Slade knew it was coming and stepped to the side, bringing his knee up to impact with Abel's stomach. Slade picked him by his shirt front and held him in front of his face. Abel glared at him and spat blood onto his masked face. Slade threw him into the opposite wall and produced the trigger. "Try something like that again and your girlfriend is dead," he looked at Robin holding his blaster arm ready, "that goes for you too, Robin." Robin lowered his arm and clenched his fists. "I don't appreciate disobedience and those that disobey shall be punished," Slade pressed a button on the trigger and Abel Robin writhed in pain as electricity coursed through their bodies. Slade let go of the trigger and they collapsed to the floor, "let that be a lesson."

TT

Starfire lay awake in bed longing for Abel to be lying next to her, holding her. She had not yet given herself to him and feared she would never get a chance. She closed her eyes and silently wept, eventually crying herself into a partially peaceful sleep. Dreaming of what her life was like before they met him, how he made her feel now, and of what might happen in the near future. It was then that she realized just how empty she felt without him.

TT

Raven hovered above her bed chanting in her head, but she found it difficult to concentrate. She had grown accustomed to meditating with Abel, and when Robin joined them, it was even more relaxing; but now they're gone. A tear fell from her closed eyes and she remembered the last thing she had actually said to Robin. It had been before that fateful attack, Robin and Abel were playing video games and Robin was losing badly. Robin reached over to Abel's controller and mashed some of the buttons, but only ended up destroying himself. 'That's very Beast Boy of you,' she had said and he had replied with a frustrated grunt. She had compared him to Beast Boy and it was the last thing she said to him. Another tear made its way down her cheek and she lie down in her bed and fell asleep.

TT

Abel slumped against the cell wall and watched Robin pacing in front of him. The frustration flooding from the boy was overwhelming.

"If you keep that up, we may be able to escape through the hole you make." Robin glanced at him but said nothing. He would never understand how Abel could be so sarcastic in a time like this. He really was Raven's brother. Raven. Just thinking about the dark beauty made him tingle. The desk in the room twisted into a useless mass. He had to find a way out of here, if not for himself and Abel, then for Raven and Starfire. The cot flipped through the air and crashed into the wall, the force with which it was thrown left it imbedded. He needed to calm down. He needed to control his emotions. He went over what Slade may be planning in his head. One thing bothered him. Why had Slade used something that had already failed?

'Because we wouldn't expect it… He knew we were expecting him to attack, but not with something that had already failed,' he pondered this. It just didn't feel right, "Why would he use something that already failed?" he asked, turning to Abel. Abel looked up at him and shrugged; Robin proceeded his pacing and looked at the floor. He was about to continue when the door opened. The captives looked up and saw one of Slade's droids. It turned and they followed it out the door. When they entered Slade's screen room, he was leaning against the table with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Impressive. Very impressive," he said as if they knew what he was talking about. They remained silent and he continued, "I was looking over the video feed from one of my probes, when I noticed, Robin, that your eyes were glowing behind your mask; quite literally. Somewhat like Raven's. I was confused at first but I did some research on it. I found an article about humans having demonic powers transferred into their bodies by way of intercourse. I wondered when you would do such a thing and who with. Then I remembered your dear little bird, Raven. You have Raven's powers, Robin and you hid them from me. That is not very obedient, Robin." Slade pressed the trigger and electricity surged through the boys' bodies. Slade released the button and the boys staggered forward. When they were close enough Slade brought his foot up and connected with robin's face, he spun and hit Abel with the same foot. They landed in a heap on the other side of the room. Slade waved his hand and two droids hefted the boys up and dragged them back to their room. The robots entered the room and dropped the boys on the floor; they turned and left the boys on the floor. Regaining consciousness, they sat up.

"So much forthat," Robin said, rubbing his jaw where Slade kicked him. Abel nodded his head, holding his ribcage.

"We should get some sleep," he said.

"Sleep? We can't sleep! We have to get out of here!"

"If we don't sleep, we won't be able to carry out Slade's orders. If we don't carry out his orders, Rae and Star die," he replied calmly. If the girls' lives didn't depend on them, he would have gladly stayed up fuming. Their lives _did_ depend on them and he _couldn't_ stay up fuming. He turned to where his cot was and found it had disappeared. He remembered Robin's rant and looked at his cot imbedded in the wall, "maybe next time you could stick your own bed in the wall?" he grabbed the cot and pulled with all his Tamaranian might, but the bed didn't budge. He stepped back and raised his hands, the cot glowed black and he wrenched it out, leaving and hole in the steel wall, 'Good, I hope that costs him a butt-load.' He set the cot down and lay down in it. He looked at Robin meditating on his own cot. Robin opened his eyes, finding it hard to concentrate. He lay down in his bed and flipped the light switch with his powers.

"G'night, Abe"

"Sleep tight, Boy Wonder"

"Don't let the bed bugs bite"

"And so-on and so-forth…"


	15. Reminiscing and Liberation

Raven woke from her restless sleep. She glared at the clock taunting her with its red glowing letters, telling her that it was nine o'clock, telling her to get up, telling her to find a way to help Robin and Abel out of their little jam. She opened her curtains and the sun leaked in, blinding her for a moment. When her eyes had adjusted, she stared out over the ocean, wondering where Slade was cowering with the two people she loved the most. She decided she would take a shower as she thought about it. She entered her bathroom and turned on the shower and let the water wash over her, before cleaning herself. She stepped out of the shower and got dressed. As she walked through the hall, she stopped at Starfire's door. It silently slid open and she peered in. Starfire was not laying her bed in her usual position with her feet on the pillow. Instead she was curled into a ball, with signs of long-dried tears on her cheeks. Her chest rose and fell steadily. She seemed to be sleeping soundly, so Raven continued her journey to the kitchen. As she made her tea she remembered the night Abel had arrived. It was after he had finished explaining to them about how he ended up in Jump City…

* * *

I entered my room and grabbed my mirror. I was pulled into my mind and landed gracefully on the rocky landscape. I looked around for my emotions. Intelligence was the only one present. She was sitting at the edge of the rock trail, reading a book. I approached the yellow clad doppelganger.

"I'm back," I announced. Intelligence turned to me and stood.

"Indeed. Come to speak about your new emotions?"

"No. Abel. How do I know I can trust him? How do I know he's even related to me? How do I know he can control his powers or that he won't run away, like Terra?"

"What does your heart tell you?" Intelligence's answer caught me off guard. I didn't expect something like that from Intelligence. A question like that was in Wisdom's department.

"You've been hanging around with Wisdom, haven't you?"

"I have. Answer the question. What does your heart tell you?" I thought long about this before answering. I didn't know how to answer. It had been quite a long time since I had listened to anything her heart had to say. I tried to hear what my heart was telling me.

"Yes," I answered. I could trust him. He practically spat Slade's name. Cyborg ran the DNA test at least twelve times. And control? No one could fight like he did without control. But would he run away? No. I will make sure he doesn't. He is my brother. We have just met. He will stay longer than a couple of days before he even considers running away. That issue settled I turned to Intelligence again, "so what about these new emotions?"

* * *

Raven sipped her tea and stared sorrowfully at the wall. She remembered the first time they spent time together.

'Azarath. Metrion. Zynthos'

Failing to concentrate, she walked back to her room. She stopped at her mirror and stared at her reflection. Something on her dresser caught her attention. It was a picture of her and Robin. Next to it was one of the team without Abel and then one with Abel, and finally one with her, Robin, Abel, and Starfire. She picked up the picture of her and Robin and gazed at it remembering the day it was taken, it was the night after the nightclub...

* * *

"Hey, let's get a picture taken," Abel suggested as they walked by the picture shop.

"You mean the pictures that cost seventy dollars?" Robin asked, with an incredulous look.

"We can get one, make copies and give them to the others," Abel responded with a shrug, placing his arm around Starfire's shoulders, "what do you say?" he asked her.

"I think it would be glorious!" she said rather loudly. I rolled my eyes as people within the wide range turned to look at her. Robin sighed and looked at me.

"What about you, Rae?"

"Sure, why not?" I responded with a shrug. Abel clapped his hands together.

"Alrighty-then!" we turned into the shop and gawked at the decorations and samples lining the shops walls. Starfire stopped to stare at one of the frames on display. It was silver and had gold butterflies around the corners; in place of the photo was a slip of paper with a Lladro logo. She looked at the price tag. The beautiful frame cost more than the picture they were going to take. I watched as Abel looked over her shoulder and whistled at the price. Starfire turned and walked to something else. Abel watched her walk away and looked back at the frame. He glanced back at Starfire and smiled.

'What are you going to do?' I projected.

'Nothing!' he replied unconvincingly.

'I can read your mind; it's pointless to deny it. You're going to buy it for her, aren't you?'

'No... maybe... yes.'

'And where do you plan on getting money to make such a purchase?'

'I'll worry about that when the time comes. Get out of my head!' With that, he shot up his mental barriers and locked me out f his mind. I scowled at him and he scowled back. Robin interrupted our death-glare battle.

"They're uh… ready for us… something wrong?"

"No," we answered at the same time. Robin shrugged and turned to walk to the back. The photographer was a woman in a red blazer and black skirt. She smiled warmly at us and looked at Robin and Starfire as they walked in.

"You two make such a cute couple!" I was perturbed at the nerve of this woman. It annoyed me even more to think that I wasn't what people expected of Robin. I clenched my hands in my pockets. Before anyone could respond she rounded on Abel and I. "And you two look perfect together!"

Abel's jaw dropped at the obliviousness of the woman. He shook his head and stepped forward to set things straight.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, _She's_ my sister," he said, indicating me. The woman smiled and nodded and Abel continued, "_She's_ my girlfriend," he finished with a gesture toward Starfire. The woman; Barbara, as her nametag read; continued to smile. Abel raised an eyebrow and looked at Robin, who shrugged. Another photographer appeared from a room.

"Hi, I see you've met Barbara, she's a bit spacey and jumps to enormous conclusions. I'm Sheryl. If you'll follow me, I can take your picture if you want."

"That would be… nice," said Abel, he was watching Barbara. She was still smiling and nodding to no one. Her gaze never left the wall, even when Abel waved his hand in front of her face, "Let's get this done, then." He stopped waving his hand and walked in the direction Sheryl indicated. We started to follow him into the back, when Barbara came back from La-La land.

"Thanks for coming, hope to see you soon!" she was still staring at the wall and started waving. When she stopped waving she turned and walked into the staff room.

"Anyway… this way for your photo."

* * *

Raven was yanked from her reverie when she noticed her mirror glowing. A portal opened and she gasped at who stepped out.

TT

Starfire opened her eyes. She had been lying awake for hours and closed her eyes when someone opened her door. She wasn't sure who it was until they walked away and she noticed a blue cloak fluttering passed her doorway. She wasn't sure why she closed her eyes. Maybe she didn't want anyone to bother her? Shaking the thought from her head, she sat up and looked at her dresser. On top of it, next to her mirror was a picture of the team before Abel arrived and one two weeks after he had. In the picture without Abel, she stood a little behind Robin and to the left of Cyborg. Beast Boy was squatted on Cyborg's left shoulder with his fingers in a V behind Cyborg's head. Raven had tried to stay as far out of sight as possible, but failed because Cyborg had his right arm firmly around her shoulder.

She shifted her gaze to the more recent photo. It was at the park, on a picnic table. Robin was sitting on the park bench with the bench between his legs. Cyborg stood in the background with his right foot resting on the table and his right arm resting on his leg. Beast Boy was lying on his back on the top of the table with his head dangling over the edge, so he was looking at the photographer. Starfire herself sat at the bench as well, with her feet under the table and her head turned toward the camera. Abel sat at the table to Starfire's left facing away from it with his elbows resting on it and leaning back to look into camera. Raven's position in this photo made Starfire smile; she was not fighting to stay out of the photo, instead she sat behind Robin with her arms draped around his shoulders and her chin resting on her arm. Her smile in the previous picture was forced, but this was genuine; Starfire could tell by the way Raven's eyes wrinkled a little at the edges. It was the most genuine smile Starfire had ever seen on her friend's face.

The next picture on her dresser was one she cherished. It was of herself and Abel. She remembered the day it was taken. She, Abel, Robin, and Raven were at the mall, when Abel suggested they get a picture taken. The initial idea was to get one and make copies, but the photographer suggested a package set. Robin started to refuse, but Abel liked the idea…

* * *

"So would you like a package?" the photographer inquired. Robin began to refuse, but Abel figured it would be good idea.

"I don't think…"

"Sure." Robin rounded on Abel.

"What? Getting one picture was your idea!"

"Yes. What's your point?" I watched the spectacle with interest while Raven shook her head and smiled. Abel glanced at me and winked. I smiled back and suddenly had a mischievous idea. I jumped in front of Robin and gave him the look Beast Boy always used on me when he wanted something. I jutted out my bottom lip and stared at him with bi g eyes. I was surprised when Raven joined in next to me.

"Please!" we said in unison. I knew Abel was smiling behind us. Robin looked from me, to Raven, to Abel. He sighed and gave up.

"Fine"

* * *

Starfire picked up the picture frame and stroked it. It was the one she had been examining at the shop. After the pictures were taken Abel had disappeared somewhere, when he returned he said he had gone to the restroom. An hour later we returned to the tower…

I held the picture of Abel and me in my hand. I entered my room still looking down; I went to my closet to find a frame. I took one out and went to my bed to put the picture in, but something caught my eye. I looked at my dresser and saw the picture frame I had been admiring at the shop. I gasped and picked it up; it was cool to the touch. I somehow knew it was Abel that bought the frame. _That's where he went,_ I thought to myself as I placed the picture in the delicate frame. After the photograph was in place I set it on my dresser. I exited my room and made my into the living room…

Starfire was pulled out of her trance by Raven's shout.

"Starfire!" Starfire placed the frame on her dresser and flew through her door and to Raven's room. She entered, ready to fight, when she realized what made Raven shout her name. She gasped and unclenched her hands.

"Abel?"

TT

Abel lay awake, staring at the ceiling. He looked across the room to Robin tossing and turning in his sleep. 'It's time to get out of here,' he thought to himself. He grabbed his rosary around his neck and muttered his mantra.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos"

He was pulled into his mind and landed in a grassy field. He looked around and found Happy in his bright green shirt.

"Happy, Where's Intelligence?"

"Yo, homie. Don't know where he is, dude," he replied with an enormous smile. Abel sighed and looked around. He turned to Happy, who was humming something to himself.

"Maybe you could help me then. Is there anyway for me to get to Raven's mind from here?" he asked. Happy stopped humming and smiled.

"Totally, dude. Follow me," he led the way to a rocky arch, "right through there, homie."

"Thanks"

"Keep it real, yo."

"Yeah," Abel stepped through the portal and onto a grassy field. Abel turned around and saw Happy waving at him. Abel turned back around and came face-to-face with Raven in a pink cloak.

"Hey, little bro!" she shouted and hugged him around the neck. Abel pulled away and looked back at the portal. The green-shirted Abel was still there, running around and doing cartwheels.

"I need to get out of here. Into Raven's room,"

"Okay!" Happy Raven ran off shouting for him to follow. Abel ran after her. When she stopped at another arch, Abel ran through it and waved as he did. He stepped out of Raven's mirror and into her room. Raven's eyes widened and she gasped.

"Hey, sis"

TT

Robin woke up and looked around, remembering where he was. He looked toward Abel's cot and found it empty. Robin shot out of his cot and ran to Abel's and found his rosary and his badge. He picked up the rosary and rubbed the crucifix with his thumb.

'Hey, what the hell? It's worth a shot, right?' he thought as he held the rosary out in front of him, 'how did it go again? Oh, yeah. Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos,' Robin stood there but nothing happened, 'Oh, right! Gotta say it out loud,'

"Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos"

Robin was pulled into the crucifix and dumped onto a marble floor. Robin stood and looked around, he was surrounded by bookshelves.

"Nice place," he said brushing himself off.

"Isn't it?" Abel's voice made Robin jump. He spun around and in front of him was Abel, but he wasn't wearing the armor Slade had given him. Instead he was in his usual pants, boots, and shirt. He didn't have any belts and his shirt was brown and he was wearing glasses.

"Abel?"

"In a manner of speaking. I am an embodiment of Abel's emotion, Intelligence. This is my library. Every book my counterpart has ever read is here. Robin looked around again. The bookshelves seemed to form a spiral, and he noticed that the bookshelves got taller as they got farther out. There were thousands of shelves and possibly millions of books.

"Wow. All of them are finished?"

"No. Some are only partial passages, some halfway through, some completely blank except for the covers."

"Wow. Anyway, where's Abel?"

"I have not seen him. He may be in Raven's mind."

"Oh… wait, what?"

"Raven's mind. I can take you there if you like."

"Uh… yeah, take me."

"Come with me," he turned and led the way through the spiraling bookcases. Robin looked around at the books in amazement. There were novels, reference books, comic books, text books, sacred scriptures. Robin wondered if Raven's mind was anything like this. Lost in his thoughts robin didn't notice the spiraling stop and shift into the arrangement of a regular library. When he finally looked up, he was standing in front of Raven in a yellow cloak and glasses. Robin couldn't help but gasp, he knew it wasn't Raven, but it looked just like her. Raven's Intelligence walked up to him and quickly kissed him on the lips. It felt different, but was solid. She pulled away and smiled.

"It is good to see you are well. I assume you would like to get to Raven's room?"

"Yeah…"

"Come," Raven's Intelligence turned with a swish of her cloak and walked down the aisle and turned right. Robin followed and they came to an arch made of rock. Robin stepped into the black spiral and into Raven's room. He looked around at the occupants. Raven, Starfire, and Abel turned to him. Abel was the first to speak.

"It's about time you showed up."

* * *

Hey, guys. sorry it took so long to update. I've been grounded for the past month. I think this story will be finished in the next five chapters or so. 'til next chapter.


	16. Houdini

"Where are BB and Cy?" Robin asked after embracing Raven. Starfire released Abel and answered.

"I believe they are in the living room, playing the Station of Games." For some reason this made Abel smirk. Robin looked at him.

"This can't be good," he said with a smirk of his own. Abel's smirk grew into a mischievous grin.

"I have an idea," he said with a chuckle.

TT

"Aw, yer goin' down, man! Way down!" Cyborg shouted as he stood up and continued to mash the buttons on his controller. Beast Boy shot up and pressed some of Cyborg's buttons while managing to stay in control of his. Theyfocusedon the screen as their characters beat the pixilated snot out of each other. Beast Boy gained the upper hand by executing a special move on accident.

"I'm winning! _I'm _winning!" Beast Boy shouted and started jumping up and down. Cyborg stopped his celebration by executing a special move of his own, but on purpose. Beast Boy's character flew threw the air and landed on the ground, shattering it. Before any of them could continue, the screen went black and the Gamestation disassembled in front of their eyes. Their jaws went through the floor, through the next floor below them, and all the way into the garage.

"I win." They spun at the voice and saw Abel and Robin with Raven and Starfire draped over their shoulders. They weren't moving, but Cyborgfigured they were unconscious. "Hi, guys, it's good to see you." Abel's free hand glowed black, as did Robin's. Cyborg immediately readied his cannon.

"We don't want to hurt you, man," he said as Beast Boy took the form of a tiger. Abel and Robin glared and readied they're hands to fight, "Seriously, dude! We don't want to hurt you!" Abel suddenly smiled and unclenched his fist.

"Okay," he said as he set Starfire on her feet, "We didn't actually come to fight anyway." Cyborg and Beast Boy gawked as Robin did the same with Raven. Beast boy reverted back to his original form and scratched his head.

"What's going on?"

"We escaped. We'll tell you how later. Slade infected Raven and Starfire with probes. We need to get them out," Robin responded. Cyborg chuckled.

"Actually, no we don't. We checked them after they woke up. There were never any probes in them in the first place," Cyborg laughed Abel and Robin's shocked faces," So, how 'bout that escape Houdini?"

"Well, okay. We escaped through my mind," he said as if it was common knowledge. The others still didn't get how he did that.

"Details?" Beast Boy asked.

"I woke up and decided to try to escape. I entered my mind and found a way to get into Raven's mind. I wound up in her room. I assume Robin did the same."

"You went through Raven's mind?" Beast Boy asked.

"We went through Raven's mind," Abel repeated.

"How exactly?" Cyborg asked, annoyed at his vagueness.

"Our minds are connected. I could probably do the same with Robin."

"Oh, yeah, I hadn't thought of that!" Robin said as it dawned on him.

"Wait a minute… won't Slade know you're gone?"

"Nope. We found tracking devices in our badges earlier, so we removed them. Speaking of tracking devices! I need to get my rosary back!"

"What's that got to do with tracking devices?" Beast Boy asked.

"Absolutely nothing." Abel stated with a shrug.

"Will Slade be able to get into your mind?" Cyborg asked.

"No, it requires the use of my powers to enter it. Besides he thinks it's just at rosary,"

"Huh, Raven's is just a mirror. Cy and I got into it," Beast Boy said. He shuddered a little at the memory.

"Her mind must have been unstable, then." Everyone looked at Raven. She nodded and went to make tea for herself and Abel.

"What happens if Slade destroys the rosary?"

"He dies. That rosary is the only thing I have left of my mother."

"Okay…" Beast Boy drew out, "I think Cy meant what would happen to you."

"Oh… nothing really."

"Your mind wouldn't be… I dunno… destroyed along with it?" Cyborg asked.

"No, it's a portal _into _my mind; it doesn't contain it," he paused as Raven gave him a cup of tea, "thanks. Any other questions?" Cyborg and Beast Boy shook their heads, "good, I'm going to get my rosary back."

"Must you go back there?" Starfire asked worriedly.

"No, if it's right where I left it, I should be able to open a portal underneath it and it will simply fall through."

"And if it's not?" Raven asked.

"I'll seek it out." Waving his hand to indicate the conversation was over, he folded his legs under him and closed his eyes, focusing on the position of his rosary, he opened a horizontal portal in front of him and the rosary fell through.

TT

Slade stood from his desk. He had been pouring over blueprints of a zenothium fueled mining robot. The robot's mining laser was designed to tear through anything that got in its way. He had constructed one of his own, but modified his to be more destructive. He requiredthree cells more than the original, which required four. He knew that Robin had powered his Red X suit with zenothium, so he would know where to find it. As he came upon the door to their cell, he heard silence.

'They must be asleep. Weaklings!' he thought as he entered the code that unlocked the door. As he entered the room he saw the covers pulled over their heads, "Get up," he said. When they didn't move he said it again but louder. Still no reaction, so he moved to cot nearest him and pulled the cover off. He gasped to find it empty, except for Abel's rosary, which then disappeared through a portal. Slade moved to catch it, but the portal had already closed. He rose and cursed in anger. He slammed his fists into the cot, breaking in half. He turned and threw the other one against the wall.

'I will get them back. They can count on that!'


	17. Second Coming

Abel looked at his room and sighed. For some reason it was still unfinished. He looked down at the paint roller and remembered how Starfire had tried to "help" him…

I bobbed my head to my music as I painted my room navy blue. Starfire walked in carrying a bucket and paint roller. I removed my headphones and asked her what color it was. As she removed the lid it revealed pink paint.

"Starfire, that's pink…"

"Yes, I thought it would look nice with blue." I stared at her and repeated what I had just said.

"Starfire, that's pink…"

"You are repeating yourself."

"Yes. Pink?"

"You do not like it?" she asked, as she looked down. For some reason I couldn't help but accept. It bothered me, because I had never given in to a girl this easily before. I sighed.

"Alright, I'll use it… but just a little." Her face immediately lit up as she removed the lid and poured some into the paint tray. She dipped the roller into it and applied it to the wall. I opened my mouth to tell her I would rather wait to use it, but decided not to. When she stopped painting I looked at her. Her hand hovered in front of the wall and some of the paint was dripping onto the carpet. "Star, you're getting it on the carpet…" She looked at the paint roller and muttered an apology. I turned back to my work, but noticed she was staring at the roller with a grin. "Starfire?" I asked, worried for her sanity. It's not everyday you see a girl smiling at a paint roller. She turned to me with the grin still on her face. "Are you okay?" She stood from her kneeling position and advanced, still grinning. I started to worry that she had completely snapped as she approached me, armed with a pink paint roller and an evil grin. "S-st-starfire?" she continued her approach, stopping inches from my face. Her smile grew, if possibly, wider. I leaned back and gulped, the closeness didn't bother me; at least it wouldn't have if she wasn't _grinning like a maniac!_ She leaned in closer. I tried to lean further back, but was stopped by the wall. She continued to grin and did something much unexpected. She kissed me full on the lips, well, more like a peck. A two second peck. The paint cans piled against the wall exploded. As she pulled away I could tell she had accomplished whatever the hell her psychotic scheme was. I could tell I was blushing a little bit. She smiled at me, but with a little less malice. Unfortunately, she obviously wasn't finished yet. She stepped back and mischief returned to her face. I closed my eyes in anticipation of her next psychotic action. I felt something wet press against my shirt. I opened my eyes in shock, worried that she may be doing something very wrong. I sighed with relief when I realized she had only painted the front of my shirt pink. I looked at her in confusion and realized that she had just painted my shirt _pink!_ "Starfire!" I shouted. I grabbed a paint roller, toppling more paint cans. She squealed and fled the room the paint roller still in her hand. I took off after her and followed her into the living room. I chased her around the living room and eventually caught her…

Abel was interrupted by Starfire walking into the room. Abel turned to her and smiled.

"I missed you," he said. She smiled at him and walked further into the room.

"I missed you as well," she placed her hand on the wall and smiled at the memory of the kiss. She still hadn't figured out what had come over her, but didn't regret it in the least, "do you intend to finish what you started?" she asked indicating the room. Abel looked around the room and sighed. He was too tired to really do anything like that right now. He turned to Starfire to reply.

"Nah, I'm too beat. Maybe tomorrow. Wanna help me?"

"Oh yes, I would very much enjoy that… Are you injured?"

"What? No, no, I mean I'm tired."

"Oh… perhaps I could help you relax?"

"Sure." Starfire indicated him to make himself comfortable, so he entered his usual position: floating with his legs crossed. She went behind him and followed suit. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she pressed down on the pressure point. Abel groaned and let his head droop forward. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"It is a common Tamaranian tradition. When a warrior returns from battle or imprisonment, it is common for the companion of that warrior to massage his body. It is meant to ease the tension of combat, and…" She paused in her speech but not her actions. Abel just barely noticed; he looked over his shoulder at her.

"And?" he urged. Starfire blushed and the embarrassment washed over Abel. He raised his eyebrows and asked again. Starfire took a deep breath and continued.

"It can also be used to prepare both partners for intercourse…"

"Inter- oh…" This time it was Abel who blushed. He thought about this and turned to Starfire, interrupting her, with a smirk. She had her head bowed so didn't notice. "Which one were you trying to do?" Starfire looked up to find Abel still smirking. Starfire smiled and tackled him. Abel crashed into a pile of paint cans, which opened and poured their contents onto the Tamaranians. They hardly noticed and proceeded to playfully wrestle on the floor.

TT

"Did you hear that?" Cyborg asked as he paused the game. Beast Boy rolled his eyes.

"Dude, stop making excuses!" he shouted.

"I'm not!" Cyborg shouted back.

"This is the umpteenth you've paused the game!"

"But this time I heard something!"

"Well, maybe you should get your ears checked, because I didn't hear a crash from Abel's room!" Beast Boy stopped and scratched his head in confusion, "Maybe I did?"

"Yeah… Let's go check it out."

"What? What if Starfire's there? What if their… you know… getting it on?"

"Abel wouldn't do that, and neither would Starfire."

"How do you know?"

"I don't…"

"Okay… but what if?"

"Then… we'll have front row seats"

"Dude, that's sick and wrong! Let's go!" Beast Boy spun on his heel and headed toward Abel's room. Cyborg shook his head and followed. When they rounded the corner of the hall that contained Abel's room, they started to tiptoe. They found the door open and peeked in to see Starfire on top of Abel unbuttoning his shirt while trying to eat his face. Beast Boy nudged Cyborg and whispered.

"Hah, now you owe me twenty bucks!"

"No I don't, we didn't bet on it!" Cyborg whispered, but loudly.

"Shhh, they might hear us!" They looked back inside to see Abel glaring at them from the corner of his eye. He pointed at them and were thrown down the hall and landed in a heap with a crash.

TT

"What was that?" Starfire asked, panting a little. Abel smiled and replied just as breathlessly.

"Nothing. Hey, are you hungry?" Starfire nodded and then stood. She stretched her hand out to Abel. He grabbed it and pulled her back down. "I'm not," he said with a smirk. Starfire smiled and leaned forward but was interrupted by Abel's stomach growling. Starfire raised her eyebrows and grinned. Abel glared at his stomach and it growled again. He rolled his eyes and sighed. He looked at Starfire and grinned. "I'm hungry. You?" Starfire slapped his chest and stood. Abel levitated himself up and planted his feet on the ground. He stretched out his hand with a smile. "Shall we?"

"We shall," Starfire replied with a smile and took his hand. The exited the room to find Cyborg and Beast Boy piled against the wall. Starfire stared at them curiously when Abel casually greeted them. She shrugged it off, however, when Abel's hand slipped down from her waist.

TT

"Choose something dear to you."

"Something dear to me? Why?"

"It's easier to establish a portal if you have some memories attached to it. For instance, Abel's rosary was his mother's. My mirror belonged to my mother. Do you have anything that belonged to your mother or father?" Robin looked down. Raven knew he was sensitive about the issue of his parents. "I'm sorry. It doesn't have to be from your parents." Robin looked and smiled.

"Maybe it would be better… I'll be right back." He opened a portal behind him and stepped through. A few minutes later he returned with a box in his hand. It was the size of a wedding ring and Raven gulped. Robin noticed and laughed. "It's nothing like that; this was my mother's wedding ring. Robin opened the box to reveal the most amazing ring Raven had ever seen. The band was a braided design with jet, a ruby and an emerald imbedded in the center. Robin held it out to her and she took it carefully.

"Are you sure? If the spell goes wrong, this ring will be obliterated, taking this island with it."

"I'm confident in your abilities," he replied with a smile. Raven smiled back and sat down in the circle they had prepared and Robin followed suit.

"Do yo remember what to do?"

"Chant in Azarian, then English. Finally, we say 'Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos' to seal the spell."

"Correct, let's begin." Raven and Robin closed their eyes and chanted in Azarian, then English.

Gods above, we pray to thee

Gods below, we pray to thee

Gods between, we pray to thee

Grant us the power to enter the mind

Of the masked one before you

Through the vessel in the center

Of the circle of the Avatars

Gods above, we pray to thee

Gods below, we pray to thee

Gods between, we pray to thee

Grant us our request!

They opened their eyes to be blinded by the glowing ring. It hovered inches above the ground and slowly rotated. The light dimmed to a faint shimmer and Robin and Raven nodded to each other.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!"

The ring spun faster, until it was a golden blur, it flared with blinding light for a split second and immediately dimmed. It slowed its rotation as it lowered itself to the ground. On the floor it pulsed for a while then ceased. Raven nodded to Robin and he picked it up. He held it in front of his face. He took Raven's hand and recited their mantra. They were pulled into Robin's mind and landed on a floating rock.

"This looks like my mind," Raven said, looking around in awe. Robin nodded.

"I guess that makes sense, I mean, our minds are connected." Raven nodded and turned around to examine the area behind them to find that a path had formed leading to a gate. She tapped Robin on the shoulder and they followed the path through the gate. They were astonished at what they saw. In front of them was a large grassy field with trees every few yards.

"Happy," Raven stated simply.

"Huh?" Robin asked. He turned back to the scene and came face to face with himself. The clone looked exactly like him in every way except that the inside of his cape was light blue.

"Hey guys! I never thought I'd see you here." He said with an enormous smile. Robin leaned back to lessen the damage to his ears.

"Right… where are the others?" Robin immediately regretted asking this because Happy burst into laughter and rolled in the grass. Robin and Raven stared as he stood; he put his fingers in his mouth and let out an ear-piercing whistle.

"I didn't know you could do that," Raven said with her fingers in her ears. Robin shrugged as he replied.

"Never had a reason to." Their conversation was interrupted by the other emotions arriving. Impatience was the first arrive, in his orange lined cape.

"Do have to do that so loud?" he shouted. Happy was unfazed by this and indignantly replied with his arms crossed and nose in the air.

"Yes." Impatience went into some sort of convulsion in his attempt not to strangle Happy. Intelligence, in darker blue, appeared next with a book tucked into the nook of his elbow.

"Hello, Robin. Raven. It is good to see you."

"Confusing, but okay," Robin said. Raven glanced at him and smiled. She had felt the same way the first time she had done this. Next was Courage, in pink. "Pink?" Raven asked. It unsettled both her and Robin when he replied with Courage in unison.

"It takes a true man to wear pink." Before anyone could say anything else, Love appeared, in a lighter pink than Courage's.

"Raven?" Robin gasped.

"What?"

"Huh? No, I mean Raven," he said pointing to Love. Raven turned to Love and gasped. Love was in the form of herself. Love smiled.

"Yes. Some emotions have people or animals attached to them and take the form of that person or animal. One apparition can sometimes represent to related emotions. For instance…" Intelligence explained as Slade appeared next to Love. Robin clenched his fists, but restrained, knowing that this was only a representation. This Slade was an exact replica of the real Slade except for the scratch that came over the single eye and to the right side of the mask. "This is Rage and Wrath combined. Another example…" Intelligence continued as Red X appeared nest to Rage/Wrath, with his head hung, "Humiliation and Shame. Love also represents Lust."

TT

"Where are Rob and sis?" Abel asked. Starfire looked up at him and shrugged. Abel looked at the clock. It was five o'clock. "They've been gone for three hours!"

"Do not worry, Love," Abel raised his eyebrow. She had never called him that before. He shrugged and continued to worry. With a sigh he tried to reach them through their telepathic connection.

'Rea? Robin?' he projected.

'What?' Raven replied.

'Where are you guys?'

'Robin's mind, why?'

'Oh, you've established a portal?'

'Of course not! We jumped through my nose!' Robin replied.

'Ha-ha. Don't stay too long. Eventually Cy and BB will stop arguing over dinner.'

'Order a pizza,' Raven projected.

'We had pizza yesterday… and the day before that… and the day before that… and the week before that…'

'So we'll have another pizza. Order it from another delivery service or something!' Raven shouted, losing patience.

'We've ordered from every pizza place in the county.'

'Get Chinese, then!'

'Chinese it is. Enjoy your gallivanting through Rob's mind,' with that Abel turned in the direction of the kitchen and shouted. "Hey, we're getting Chinese!" the combatants did not hear, however, and continued their squabble. Abel shrugged and felt Starfire tighten her grip on his shirt. He turned to ask her what was wrong but was answered by the portal above their coffee table. "Go!" Abel whispered the order and he and Starfire immediately moved into fighting positions, hands and eyes glowing. Before either of them could react, a young man with familiar hair, eyes, and other such features, stepped through. Starfire gasped. Abel blinked as he watched vaguely familiar person step through the portal, onto the coffee table and onto the floor. The stranger had a bundle in his arms.

"Call the others," he said; his voice wasn't much different from Abel's. Abel slowly turned to the kitchen.

"C-c-cyborg, Beast Boy, come into the living room, please!"

"Hang on, Abe!" Behind Abel the stranger scrunched his face.

"I hate it when they call me that!"

"Now, dammit!" he shouted, his voice deepening. Cyborg and Beast Boy scampered into the living room, in case Abel decided to take a leaf out of his sister's book and go medieval on them.

"We're here! Please don't hurt us!" Beast Boy shouted, on his knees with his hands clasped in a praying position. He noticed the stranger in the living room and immediately forgot his groveling. "hoozat?"

"I'll explain soon," the stranger replied. Beast Boy and Cyborg jumped at how much he sounded like Abel. He disregarded their reaction and turned to Abel, "Robin and Raven?"

"Their, uh… in Robin's mind…" the older Abel's jaw dropped.

"I went back that far?" in the background Cyborg and Beast Boy were still trying to put two and two together. When it finally dawned on them, it did so ruthlessly.

"Is that…" they were ignored, however, as Abel continued to talk to the stranger.

"What's in the bundle?"

"I'll explain when everyone's here."

"It is!" Cyborg started.

"That's Abel!" Beast Boy confirmed.


	18. Noah

The Titans gathered in the living room, Cyborg and Beast Boy still staring between their Abel and the newly arrived version. Starfire was having a hard time nit staring at the new Abel's muscular tone. She glanced back at her Abel and realized it was just the shirt he always wore. His regular shirt did not allow for a good view of his body; this one, however, did, because it was merely a white undershirt. She looked back at the newcomer and noticed his clothing for the first time; it was a cloak and leotard like Raven's, but he wore loose baggy pant and his clothing was white, his cloak also had silver trim. Raven and Robin finally arrived, taking their sweet time, which greatly annoyed both Abels. They took in the scene of Abel and the newcomer pacing back and forth in annoyance, the newcomer still carrying the bundle.

"Who's this?" Robin asked suspiciously. He looked over the white clad man and realization hit him. "No way…" Raven stared at the man, immediately recognizing him.

"Abel?" Both Abels stopped pacing and looked up.

"You took your sweet time," they said in unison. They glanced at each other and smirked. Raven and Robin took in the white clothing

"Nice cloak," Raven said with admiration. The new Abel smiled and replied.

"I should hope you think so, you made it for me," Raven raised her eyebrows.

"I did?"

"Yes, as a wedding gift."

"Oh," Raven said with a nod. All eyes turned to the newcomer. Starfire was the first to speak.

"Wedding gift?" she asked with traces of hope in her voice. The doppelganger nodded and replied.

"Yeah, for… you know… our wedding." Abel tilted his head toward his doppelganger.

"'Our'?"

"Well… your wedding," he replied indicating Abel and Starfire. They looked at each other and Starfire beamed. Abel half smiled, unsure. He was only fourteen, after all.

"When?" he asked.

"Uh… what year is it?"

"O' three," Beast Boy replied after getting over the shock of having two Abels in their living room. The older Abel nodded.

"Three years."

"And the bundle?" Raven asked. With a smile, the older Abel unfolded the cloth to reveal a baby boy. The boy had orange skin and green eyes. His small amount of hair was black with silver tips. He turned to Starfire and Abel.

"My son. Your son." Everyone gasped. Starfire put her hand to her mouth, Abel looked a little queasy, Cyborg and Beast Boy gawked, and Raven and Robin simply blinked.

"I'm an aunt…" Raven whispered. The older Abel turned to her and Robin.

"And Robin's an uncle." Another gasp. Robin processed this and stammered.

"You mean we…" he said pointing at himself and Raven.

"Yep"

"Do we?"

"Yep, the babies due in two months. It's a-" he was cut off by Robin.

"Don't tell me! I don't want to know yet!" Abel nodded and looked at his son as he woke. The Titans watched in admiration at how well he handled his baby. The younger version tried not to smile in admiration of himself. He took a step toward his older self.

"So… what's his name? How old is he? How old are you? Can I hold him?" he asked in one breath. The older Abel looked up and smirked. He handed the baby to the younger him.

"Noah. Two months. Nineteen. Sure." Starfire walked over to Abel and looked over his shoulder, he turned to her and handed her the baby. As the others crowded Starfire to admire the baby, Abel turned to his future self.

"So… why did you come?" he asked, "I mean I _know_ you didn't just pop by to chat, so…" Future Abel sighed sadly causing the others to look up.

"I need you to protect him," he stated simply. Everyone gave him curious looks and he continued, "From your brother." Abel and Raven's eyes widened.

"We have a brother?" they said in unison. Future Abel smirked.

"Yeah, twin. I, uh… you... we came out first, so he doesn't have a chakra."

"Wazat got to do with anything?" Beast Boy asked.

"The chakra is a symbol of royal inheritance in the demon world. Raven and I are heirs to our father's legacy… unfortunately. If there are twins, the first born receives the chakra while the second is banished as a commoner," Younger Abel paused and continued in almost a whisper, "I guess my mother took me away after the ceremony… What's our brother's name?"

"Carthatagon," Future Abel spat. He regained himself and continued, "Ironically, his name translates to Cain." Abel, Robin, and Raven chuckled. Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg couldn't help but be confused. Beast Boy pretended to understand and let out a fake laugh.

"Oh, ha-ha-ha-ha… huh?" Cyborg cuffed him and shook his head. Abel sighed and explained.

"In the Bible; Genesis, chapter four, verse six."

"Ah…" Beast Boy said, although he had no idea what he was talking about. Abel continued on.

"Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, are banished from the Garden of Eden. After a while they have two sons. The first is Cain, and then Abel. In chapter four, verse six, Cain kills his brother out of jealousy. He is jealous because God accepts Abel's gift, but not his, so he kills him." Starfire gasped at this.

"That's horrible!"

"I know…" Abel sighed he turned back to himself and addressed him, "but why did you come here?"

"In my time, Carthatagon tries to fulfill our destinies in our stead in order to prove himself worthy of the title, 'Lord of Zynthos'."

"Zynthos, isn't that what you always say?" Cyborg asked addressing the chief users of the word.

"Yeah, why is that?" Robin asked. Raven took it upon herself to reply.

"'Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos' translates to 'Heaven, Earth, Hell', the three dimensions that form the universe.'

"So basically, we're the children of Satan…" Abel concluded. The older Abel continued his telling.

"Yes, Carthatagon, in order to prove himself, must destroy the ones that opposed him and any related to him. That's us…" Abel looked down at his shoes as he finished.

"But why come here?" Abel asked. His older self looked up.

"Well, who better to protect my son than myself?" he said with a grim smirk, "I believe your Carthatagon is still in Zynthos. It takes a hell of a lot of power to transfer between dimensions, so he should be safer here," he said waving his hand at Noah, "it is imperative that he survives. Not just for us, but for the salvation of all existence," at this everyone stared at him with shock, "after he was born, an Avatar, or angel, came to us told us about his destiny. He is the only one powerful enough to permanently vanquish Trigon," everyone looked down at the boy in Starfire's arms and watched as he blew a bubble with saliva, "At least… he will be… Anyway, I have to go; my Starfire and I have stuff planned."

"Oh, but won't you stay for dinner? We're ordering Chinese…" the older Abel stopped and turned.

"That reminds me! We're allergic to shrimp." As he turned to go, Robin stopped him this time.

"What about the Teen Titans?" the time traveler turned, getting annoyed.

"Well, seeing as none of us are teenagers in my time, we're just the Titans. The city still needs saving from psychos, like Slade, but he isn't one of them."

"Slade's gone? How?"

"If I reveal too much about the future, you may accidentally alter it by relying on the facts too much." He turned opened the portal and walked through before anyone could stop him. The Teen Titans were left in silence after the departure. Starfire looked down at the boy in her hands and smiled at him; she was delighted when the baby let out a happy squeal and smiled back. Abel walked up to her and took him. As the others gathered around, he said.

"So, you're going to save the world, eh? Well, we're going to help," the baby laughed and reached out with his hand. Abel gave his finger and the boy squeezed; even though he was just a baby, he is demonic and Tamaranian heritage gave him tremendous strength, and the cartilage in Abel's knuckle popped, "son…"


	19. Saving the World, Sort of

Slade's jaw dropped as he watched the scene play out before him. He ran his hand though his hair in disbelief as an older Abel stepped through a portal, leaving the Titans with a child. The fact that Abel had traveled through time didn't surprise him; he knew perfectly well that time travel was possible for Raven, Abel, and Robin, though they may not know themselves. What stunned him was the information gathered by his probe. _It is imperative that he survives. Not just for us, but for the salvation of all existence. _Slade's stunned look was replaced with a psychotic smile. He would capture that child. He realized how little he knew of the child's full potential, but he would learn. The greed for power clouded his judgment as he reached for his mask. He stopped, however, at the sound of a voice.

"A most enviable specimen, isn't he?" Slade whirled to face the intruder, replacing his mask and drawing his titanium staff in one fluid motion. The stranger was covered by the shadow that decorated Slade's entire lair. The figure stepped forward to show himself. He had orange tinted skin and shoulder-length black hair with a silver sheen. This was Abel's twin brother, but while the other had an air of relative benevolence, this one was radiating pure and unbridled evil. Another difference between the two was the fact that he had red eyes instead of the silver of his brother's. This must have the one from the future, because he looked older than he should be. Slade tightened his grip on his staff as the man stepped forward.

"Lower your weapon, if you can call it that; if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be standing their in a vain attempt to prepare yourself," he said with a smirk. Slade narrowed his eyes and lowered his staff slightly. The smirk left Carthatagon's face and his eyes flashed, "LOWER YOUR WEAPON, MORTAL!" he bellowed as he chopped his hand through the air. Slade's staff shattered, some of the shards piercing his gloves and armor; he fell to his knees as the wounds bled freely. Carthatagon stepped forward and knelt beside him, "Serve me," he whispered, "If you wish to survive this encounter." Slade's eyes widened as he saw his wounds begin to heal, but screamed as they reopened and worsened. "What say you?"

"I will serve you!" Slade shouted through the pain. The pain ceased and his wounds healed. He struggled to his feet, and bowed his head to his new master. Carthatagon smirked.

"You want that child, don't you?" he asked. Slade's head snapped up. "Yes, I figured as much. You want him because he's stronger than you; because you can't stand to be weaker than a mere infant. You want him to serve you. You would steal him and raise him as your own, poisoning his innocent, little mind. You would train him to be your apprentice, your servant, your lapdog. But you will not. You will serve me, or die. Is this not so?" Slade lowered his head and muttered his answer. "What was that?"

"It is so… master."

"Damn right, servant." Carthatagon said as he toured the room. "You must do my bidding. You _will _kidnap my nephew, but not for you own agenda," he paused as he walked up to Slade's surveillance screen; he ran his finger over the image of his nephew, "You will take him for me. I cannot do it myself for reasons you cannot begin to understand. My person in this timeline is far to weak to do so, I am shamed to admit. You will take the child at what ever the cost. In order for my imbecile twin and his incompetent companions to remain helpless to follow you, I will open a portal to another reality where they companions do not know of my plans. Do you understand?" He turned to his newly acquired minion. Slade nodded, he raised his head and awaited further instruction, but his master was not paying attention. When he did notice, he whirled and shouted, "Go fool!" Slade bowed and hurried out of the room. He went deeper into his former lair, to a room stocked with his production-line goons. He walked up to a console and tapped in his code; the screen flashed another password request and he complied. When the computer asked his request, he selected one of the pre-entered programs: Mass Activation. Every drone in the large hangar activated simultaneously. Slade smiled as the drones came to artificial life; he entered their orders into their programs and watched as they exited through a large doorway onto the surface. The drones spilled out into the streets of Jump City and Slade followed on a vehicle of his own, a prototype hover bike. The mass of machines made their way toward the island of the Titan's residence, some taking to the rooftops and the sides of buildings. The civilians were terrified at first, but realized they were in no immediate danger and stared as the wave of steel and wiring made its way to their beloved Teen Titans' Tower.

TT

Abel paced around the living room, feeding Noah with a bottle his older self had returned with as an afterthought. When the boy was ready to be burped, Abel handed him to Starfire with a towel over shoulder. She took the child and began patting his back lightly. After a while he burped, a little vomit coming with it. Starfire held him out in front of her and looked him over. He had a little vomit left on his mouth; she wiped it off with the towel making funny noises as she did. Noah giggled at her antics and reached out to grab a fistful of her hair. He tugged sharply, but not enough to hurt her. He kept pulling her hair and laughing. He started to pull harder and Abel had to rescue Starfire from him lest he pull out some of her hair. He took and he released her hair; Abel put him over his shoulder, he found the braid and began tugging on that. Abel sighed as his head jerked back every time he pulled. Raven smiled and went to relieve him; as she took Noah from him, she smiled the largest smile the Titans had ever seen from her. Robin came up behind her and held his finger out to the baby, which the child grasped in his vice like grip. Robin's face screwed up in surprise and slight pain.

"He's one strong kid, isn't he?" Abel said with a laugh. Robin massaged his finger and nodded. Any other comments were interrupted by the baby's yawn; the Titans were entranced by how peaceful he looked as he fell asleep in Raven's arms.

"I'll go put him in your room, Abel," she said as she turned toward the hall. The Titans were left in silence again. Beast Boy was first to break it.

"So, who's up for a quick game of Ninja Combat Extreme?" Cyborg and Robin immediately accepted the offer. When they asked Abel if he would he like to join, he refused. He turned to Starfire and hugged her. Starfire was slightly shocked but pleased.

"This is a lot to take in, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes… but it is most glorious! We will be wedded, as will Robin and Raven, and they will be with child. Do you think we will have another one?" Abel's jaw dropped at this and he blushed furiously.

"I-I-I don't know, Star. I'm… sure we will… eventually."

"You do not regret it do you?"

"Regret what?"

"Accepting to protect our son…"

"Of course not. It may well alter the course of history, but I think that's the whole point. Besides, he's technically my son, so what kind of father would I be if I refused?" Starfire was going to respond but was interrupted by an explosion in front of the other boys. The television screen blew out and showered them with glass; coughing the Titans looked up at the destruction and gasped as Slade stepped through.

"Give me the child!" he ordered.

"What child?" Abel shouted back.

"Do not try to fool me! I saw your future self drop the child off. I heard what he is capable of, and my master wants him!"

"Master?" Abel started; then it dawned on him. Slade was working for Carthatagon. "No…" Slade smiled at this.

"You know who I'm talking about, don't you?" Abel looked up at him and growled.

"You can have my son," he started. The others looked at him in shock. "When you pry him from my lifeless fingers!" he finished, preparing to fight. Slade smiled at this, he raised his hand and pressed a switch set in his glove. His army of robots poured through the window and the halls.

"That's the idea." He stepped back and watched the fray. The Titans fought desperately; these robots seemed to have a few upgrades, their reflexes much improved and their strength increased.

'Abel! Robin!' Raven projected, 'Slade's here; what's he after?'

'My son!' Abel replied. He noticed Slade slip off into the hall, to search the rooms. 'Raven, be careful! He's searching the-' Abel was interrupted by Raven's scream, and watched as Slade ran back through the hallway with Noah in his arms. Remarkably the baby was still asleep. Abel ran after Slade, refraining from using his powers lest he injure his son. Suddenly a portal opened in front of Slade, which he stepped into, before completely disappearing through it, he turned to Abel, and Abel could tell he was smiling at him. He put on an extra burst of speed and leapt through the portal after him. With the risk of injuring Noah out of the way Starfire and Raven immediately created a miniature supernova that Abel taught them.

TT

"There is nothing you could've done. There will always be people who say mean words because you are different. And sometimes their minds cannot be changed. But there are many more people who do not judge others based on how they look or where they are from. Those are the people whose words truly matter." As the Titans turned to re-enter the Tower after Starfire's speech, they were interrupted by an explosion. They were shocked as Slade erupted through the hole in the ceiling with a baby in his arms. The Titans stared dumbfounded as another person leapt through the hole. Starfire gasped when she recognized the orange skin and short eyebrows of the boy. "He is Tamaranian?" she whispered. Slade turned to them, noticing them for the first time.

"Ah, Titans, it is good to see you all well." He noticed Raven shift uneasily, but didn't have a chance to question it because the stranger interrupted him.

"Give me my son!" he shouted, his eyes glowing. The Titans stared at him; he looked like he was only in his early teens and he had a son. Robin made a mental note to question him after the encounter. When he looked back at Slade, he noticed he no longer had the mark on his forehead and his body wasn't bulging with demonic power pulsing through it.

"If you want him so badly, dear boy, you'll have to use your powers against me. You and I both know you're not fast enough to do it without them."

"The hell I'm not!" The boy clenched his fists and charged. Slade twisted and prepared to dispatch him with a powerful side kick, but the stranger expected this and jumped onto his leg and kicked off. He flew over Slade's head as he lost his balance. He managed to get a hand on the baby and carefully pulled him from Slade's grasp. When he recovered from the feint, Slade began to attack the boy. The Titans watched in amazement at how well this boy fought without dropping the baby he cradled in his arms. Slade eventually got the upper hand, sweeping his leg across his opponents; he lost his balance and threw toward the Titans. Raven tried to catch the child with her powers, but Slade snatched him from the air and ran across the roof. The other combatant recovered from his fall and ran after Slade; Slade arrived at the edge of the roof and turned around to see his pursuer skidding to a halt about a yard away from him.

"Hand him over, Slade!" he shouted. Slade smiled and turned around, just then a portal appeared before him. He hesitated, but not long and jumped through the portal. The stranger growled in frustration and followed, when he tried to jump through the portal, it disappeared. The Titans gasped in shock as he fell, but were slightly relieved as he solemnly glided back to the rooftop. When the boy landed he roared in rage and frustration and launched a volley of silver star bolts into the air.

"He is Tamaranian…" Starfire whispered. The boy turned around and the Titans gasped to see he now had four glowing red eyes.

TT

"Where is Abel?" Starfire asked, hugging herself. Raven sighed sadly and stepped down from her meditative position.

"I don't know Star, I can't trace him… That only happens when someone travels through time, or to an alternate reality," she swallowed hard and Robin walked up to her and hugged her. Starfire burst into tears and fell to her knees. Cyborg rubbed her back and shushed her.

"Shh… it'll be okay, Starfire. He's a tough kid, he'll kick Slade's butt in no time and return with Noah and that sarcastic little grin of his…" Starfire wasn't convinced and continued to weep. Robin pulled away from Raven and asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Is there anything we can do?" Raven shook her head sadly.

"If I can't track him, I can't pull him through a portal." Raven closed her eyes and tried to figure out another way of retrieving Abel. Suddenly Beast Boy spoke.

"Didn't Slade say he had a master?" Cyborg nodded in response.

"Yeah… Abe took it kinda harsh…." Raven processed this and her head snapped up in realization.

"Carthatagon!"

TT

The Titans watched as the stranger rubbed the bridge of his nose to calm himself. Robin took to his role of leader and questioned him calmly.

"What's your name?" the boy looked up and blinked.

"Abel… my name's Abel…" he looked down and rubbed the bridge of his nose again. Robin pressed on carefully.

"How old are you, Abel?"

"Fourteen…" he replied in monotone.

"So, why do you have a son?"

"My future self brought him from his time and left him with us to protect him from my brother."

"Who's 'us'?" Abel looked up in confusion and remembered his trip to an alternate reality.

"You are 'us'. The Teen Titans." Robin's eyes widened and he searched for another question to ask, but was interrupted by Starfire.

"Are you Tamaranian?"

"Yeah, Starfire… I am… sort of…"

"You know my name?"

"Yeah Star, I do… and Cyborg, and Beast Boy, and Raven, and Robin…" he pointed to each Titan individually. Raven stepped forward.

"Your eyes… on the roof you had four and they were red. I don't think Tamaranians can do that." Abel smirked at this.

"That's what I mean by 'sort of'… I'm half Tamaranian, half demon. My mother was Tamaranian, my father was a demon," he looked up at Raven and continued, "My father's name is Trigon." The Titans gasped and looked at Raven.

"Come again?" she asked.

"I'm your half brother."

"Oh…" Starfire was delighted by this and she ran to Raven and engulfed her in a terribly bone-crushing hug. While she did this, Robin continued to question Abel.

"You said we were supposed to protect your son. Did we miss the meeting or something?"

"No. this all happened in another reality. That reminds me, what year is it?" he asked.

"O' five," Beast Boy responded.

"I went two years into the future..." Raven finally managed to pull out of Starfire's friendly death grip and addressed Abel.

"Time traveling and reality hopping? You're breaking laws."

"What laws?" Robin asked.

"Well, the human laws of physics first of all," Abel replied.

"And the laws of Azarath. It is illegal to travel through time or to an alternate reality without permission. Do you have permission?"

"Not really. But, an Avatar visited my future self when Noah was born and told us about his destiny to destroy our father. So now my brother must destroy us in order to claim the throne."

"Is your brother a twin?"

"Yeah, why?" Raven scoffed at this and muttered something that sounded like 'That's just like him'

"In the case of demon twins, if either of them dies, they both die. Trigon has no intention of letting your brother claim the throne, or any of you for that matter." In the background Beast Boy seemed to be calculating something. When he reached a conclusion that satisfied him he spoke up.

"I'm twelve in your dimension?" Abel looked at him, caught off guard by the spontaneousness of the question.

"Eh? Oh… no, you and I are about the same age… Cyborg, Raven and Robin are seventeen, and Starfire's sixteen in my time and dimension. Why?"

"I'm fifteen," Beast Boy replied.

"I'm seventeen," Cyborg said.

"Sixteen," Robin said.

"My age is no one's business," Raven said with her arms crossed.

"I am sixteen years of age as well," Starfire said. Abel rubbed his chin in contemplation.

"I guess that makes sense. Your parents had you at different times than the others'. That's one of the differences in this reality. Anything else I should know about?" Beast Boy looked down sadly.

"Terra?" Abel noticed the sadness in his voice and was a little queasy.

"I heard about her. She hasn't returned… what about here?" Beast Boy looked away and clenched his fists. Abel started to get dizzy and sat down in one of the chairs at the counter. "If you don't want to tell me you… you don't have to," he rubbed his temples and blinked in an attempt to clear his vision, "just… just try not to be so emotional about it…" Beast Boy regained himself and blinked. He looked at Raven; she didn't seem to be affected by his emotions.

"Why aren't you all woozy and stuff?" he asked jabbing his thumb at Abel.

"He's more in tune with his emotions and I'm more used to your emotions." When Abel got over his nausea, he stood.

"Alright, I need to find my son." Robin nodded and remembered another question he had wanted to ask.

"Who's the mother?" Abel looked at him and glanced at Starfire. He had picked up strong emotions from Robin toward the Tamaranian princess and vice versa, so he hesitated. He wasn't bothered by this, because it was an alternate reality. He might not even exist in this one.

"Starfire"

TT

Raven floated with her legs crossed and eyes closed. Robin floated next to her to give her more power in order to try to contact Abel wherever he may be. They chanted in unison and combined their efforts of calling out to Abel.

'Abel…' they projected in unison. Getting no response they tried again. 'Abel!' still no response. 'ABEL!' getting no response, they gave up. Raven opened her eyes solemnly. She sighed and looked to Starfire; seeing the lost and helpless look in the cheerful girls face saddened and made all the more difficult for her to shake her head no. Starfire looked down, but shed no tears. Raven bit her lip and tried to think of something else.

"We need something that can produce a stronger connection… something like…" she paused. She looked at Robin and noticed he had drawn the same connection.

"Our portals!" they said in unison. Robin reached for the ring he had chained around his neck, but Raven stopped him.

"We should use mine. I have a stronger connection." Robin nodded and teleported to her room to retrieve the mirror. When he returned he handed it to Raven. "Starfire, If this works I think you should be able to go. I'll accompany you since I have more experience."

"What about us?" Robin asked.

"Sorry Robin, but it requires a lot of power to traverse through time, even if we're going through his mind. The fewer the people the less strain it will be on all of us." Robin nodded in understanding and waved them off.

"Are you certain this will work?"

"No, you'll just have to trust me."

"I trust you, Raven."

TT

"Uh… dude. Your cross thingy is glowing." Beast Boy said. Abel looked at his rosary, which was in fact glowing. A portal opened from the bead above the cross and dropped off two people: Raven and Starfire. The Titans gawked as the new arrivals stood and brushed themselves off. As they stood they were facing away from everyone else, didn't notice them.

"Did it work?" Starfire asked, with hope in her voice. Abel smirked.

"Yes," he said. The newcomers spun around and faced the other Titans. His Starfire ran to him and slapped him and without giving him enough time to say 'ow' she kissed him madly. When she pulled away, he gasped for breath. "Ow…" he gasped out. She smiled and finally noticed the Titans staring in shock at the strange event. Starfire smiled at them as if nothing out of line had happened.

"Hello friends!" the Starfire of this reality tilted her head.

"Hello, alternate me," she said. The other Starfire giggled and responded.

"It is good to see you!" Both girls laughed gleefully as the other Titans watched in amusement and confusion. Tearing himself from the scene, Abel addressed his Raven.

"Where are the others?"

"They are back in our reality. I figured it best to make sure I got the right reality first. Your little 'slap-and-kiss' thing with Starfire sort of proved me right. What was that about anyway?"

"Damned if I know. Anyway, are you planning on getting the others?"

"I'll be back." With that she re-entered Abel's mind and returned moments later with Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Robin in her wake.

"I thought you said that was too dangerous?" Robin said as he stood and brushed himself off.

"I changed my mind," Raven replied with a smirk, "Besides, I don't think this Robin here would be as willing and eager to satisfy my needs, don't you agree Wonder Boy?" her Robin smirked.

"You're so naughty… not that that's a bad thing"

"I blame you. Not that that's a bad thing."

"Save the pillow talk for later, love-birds; besides I think you're making yourselves uncomfortable." Abel said indicating the less flirtatious versions. Both pairs blushed, the non-lover versions blushing deeper. The Starifires were to busy with their bizarre conversation to notice that one of their boyfriends had made a crack about the other's would-be boyfriend. Beast Boy was talking to himself about Terra.

"She's… dead?"

"Well, kinda-sorta. She's been turned to stone. Raven's been working on a way to revive her. I don't know how much progress she's made." Cyborg was currently showing himself schematics for upgrades to the T-car.

"Check this out, I'm adding tilting tires for some hover action."

"I already did that, they kick major ass!"

"Boo-yah!"

"Okay, people. Seriously, we need to get my kid. The fate of all mankind and stuff pretty much rests on him." With that the Titans gathered to plan out their search and rescue.


	20. Power

Slade stepped out of the portal and took in his surroundings. He was in an underground cavern of some sort. It must have been inhabited, because there were torches in the walls. Slade grabbed one and adjusted the still sleeping baby in his arms; having shifted the boy into a manageable position he set off exploring the cavern. He heard a snap behind him and whirled around and came face-to-face with himself. Slade gasped and almost dropped the child in shock. His eyes wandered to the strange mark on the other's forehead. The other tilted his head forward and stretched out his hand.

"We have been waiting for you. Give me the child." Slade backed away from the imposter.

"No, I will only give this child to my master." The doppelganger sighed and waved his hand. The torch in Slade's hand flared fiercely, scorching his mask. He stumbled back in shock and fell to the ground. "What are you?"

"I'm you… with a few upgrades. Now give me the child. Your master is in allegiance with mine. Give me the child, mortal." Slade narrowed his eyes. He didn't particularly appreciate being called 'mortal', especially with the disgust in these demons' tones. He glared at the clone and grudgingly handed it the child. His clone took the child and turned indicating him to follow. Slade stood and brushed himself off; he followed his other self through the winding tunnels. They eventually arrived at another cavern; this one contained many more torches and also had the same marking on the wall as his other had on his forehead. Slade watched as his clone stepped into a ring in the center of the room. The edges glowed with power as he knelt before the symbol. "Master, I have the child, as well as your sons' servant." Slade stared at the wall in anticipation, but nothing happened. He turned to the figure in the center of the room and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a rumbling sound; he looked back at the wall and stared as the symbol glowed and the flame-like design began to wave with life. Slade felt a wave of heat from the wall and realized that it was actually on fire.

"Very good, Hiketesh; I will send my sons to retrieve the child." With that said the flames on the wall died down and faded. Slade waited and watched as 'Hiketesh' stood in preparation of the sons of this demon. A minute later the wall tore open, but it was not a tear in the wall itself, but a tear in space and time. Slade watched as two familiar twins stepped through the rift: Abel and his own master, Carthatagon. Slade's eyes widened; his other self was serving the father of his worst enemies. The only real difference with this Abel was that he no longer had a jewel in his forehead, instead it was his brother. Abel glanced at him and grimaced. Slade glared back behind his mask. Carthatagon noticed Slade glaring and forced him down with his powers.

"Show respect to the future ruler of Zynthos, mortal!" he shouted, his eyes flaring red. Abel put his hand on his raised arm and addressed him in a whisper.

"Leave him. He is not worth our time. We only came for the child."

"Very well, brother, I will entertain your decision. But if he disrespects me again, I will destroy him, agreed?" he whispered back. Abel shrugged.

"Agreed." He walked to Hiketesh and took the child from him. Slade stood and brushed himself off. Carthatagon watched with clenched fists. Slade glared at him behind his mask. Carthatagon sensed this and threw him into the wall with his telepathy.

"You mortals are so insolent!" he walked up to where he held Slade up by the throat.

"My Lord!" Hiketesh said, "Forgive me; your father wants him alive. He also wishes for him to accompany us." Carthatagon turned back to Slade and drew him closer.

"I will have you head, mortal. When this is done and I am king, I will steal your life." He released him, but no before slamming him into the wall again. Slade dropped from the air and fell to his knees, sputtering.

"Enough! We must hurry; our alternate versions will not take long to find us." Carthatagon waved his hand.

"They are all insolent fools." Abel narrowed his eyes.

"Technically, I am one of them."

"You are an insolent fool, Rycan." 'Rycan' glared. Hiketesh cleared his throat and spoke with fear in his voice.

"My Lords, your father grows impatient." The battling twins turned to him and sighed. Carthatagon reopened the rift and stepped through. Hiketesh followed, then Rycan. Noticing Slade wasn't following; this reality's version of Abel stopped and turned to him.

"If you value your life, mortal, you will follow." Rycan turned and stepped through the rift. Slade stood and ran through. When he arrived on the other side, he was stunned by what he saw: the large circular room was adorned by the skulls of many different creatures, many of them human looking. In the very back of the room stood Hiketesh, Rycan, the younger Carthatagon, and the older version. When the younger Carthatagon noticed him, he turned to his father.

"The incompetent has arrived." Slade clenched his fists, but refrained from doing anything. The older Carthatagon spoke.

"This 'incompetent' is the only reason we have this child. He deserves a minute trace of respect." Slade was shocked that the demon had defended him, but wasn't surprised that he had taken the chance to insult him. Both of the demons began to argue.

"You can't tell me what to do! You aren't even the heir to the throne!"

"Only because my insolent brother was born before me!"

"You are never going to inherit the throne!"

"I will! Once I have destroyed that fool, I will claim the throne!"

"You imbecile! If your brother dies, you will die with him!" the older Carthatagon's eyes widened.

"You lie!"

"I would never lie to myself. You honestly didn't know?" he smiled and laughed. The older version looked to the large demon on the enormous throne.

"My father-" he started, but was interrupted by Rycan.

"_Your _father lied." Carthatagon looked to Trigon again. The demon ruler nodded.

"It is true. My alternate self told you such a lie, because he felt neither of you was worthy of the throne. You are incompetent and impulsive, and your brother left and is most likely a pariah of the demon world. I would have done the same were circumstances alike here." He answered in his booming voice. Carthatagon looked to his alternate self and brother, who merely shrugged in nonchalant acceptance.

"I will destroy that bastard… With this child I will destroy my father and claim the throne and I will enslave my brother..." his voice trailed off with a psychotic smile. His alternate self smirked and Slade looked on in fear of what the outcomes may be.

TT

"So what exactly is the plan? We don't even know where they're hiding," Beast Boy questioned while picking at the back of the couch; his alternate self slapped his hand away, gave him a stern look and began picking at the same spot. Abel shook his head and responded.

"I'm pretty sure I can track him through our telepathic connection, even if he is from the future."

"Can't you, like, go through your alternate's mind?" the non-dating-Raven Robin asked. Abel shook his head.

"I may not even exist in this reality…"

"Even if he did exist, going through his own mid would destroy them from the inside, out. It's completely out of the question," both Ravens said in unison.

"Freaky," the Beast boys said. They looked at each other and grinned. Abel shook his head again and took his meditative pose. The versions unfamiliar with his position watched as he started to lean to the left until he was completely upside down.

"Why does he do that?" non-dating- Robin Raven asked dating-Robin Raven, who merely shrugged.

"If you figure out, you should let him know." After what felt like hours he opened his eyes to see all the Titans had gone off somewhere. He was about to call out when he heard a contented sigh from his left; he looked over to see Starfire floating upside down, sleeping. Abel smirked as he drifted in front of her; he refrained from doing anything in case this wasn't his Starfire. Although he doubted the alternate Starfire would meditate next to him. He didn't bother waking her and righted himself and walked to the kitchen to make himself some tea. As he passed the fridge, he noticed a note pinned to the wall with a magnet shaped like a 'T'; he removed the note and read:

'Abel,

Got a call; the alternates thought it would be a good idea if we came along.

Raven.

By the way, there aren't any more tea bags. We're going to the grocery store for more.'

Abel chuckled as he finished reading the note; he walked to the fridge and searched for something edible or potable. Removing a soda, he leaned against the counter.

'Apocalypse is at hand and they're buying groceries,' he thought with a smile. He heard a moan and looked at Starfire as she stretched and turned on her side, still floating, her body rising and falling slightly synchronously with her chest. He looked away and stared at the wall, pondering their "plan" to get his son back. 'Some father I am… I just got the kid and he's already being used to bring about the apocalypse… so much for keeping him out of the "bad" crowd…' his own thoughts were interrupted by someone else's; it took him a while to figure out whose:

'Poor Abel…' the "voice" was feminine and familiar, but Abel couldn't place it.

'Who's there?' he projected, but to no avail. The speaker pressed on and the next statement made him realize who it was.

'Such a burden for one so young… but he will not be alone, I will help him raise our son, our Noah… for he is my smorfka…' Abel stared at Starfire's sleeping body. Her subconscious thoughts were being projected into his mind while she slept. What impressed him more was the fact that her subconscious thoughts were about him and Noah!

"Holy crap!" he whispered, "What the hell is a 'smorfka'?" he shook his head and ran to Raven's room; when he arrived there, he continued running, expecting it to open it automatically, and crashed into the reinforced titanium with a considerably loud and painful clang when it didn't. He stumbled back as he shook his head; he blinked in an attempt to stop the multi-colored dots that were swing dancing in front of his eyes. When they had slowed to a medium paced waltz, he phased through the door and into her room. As his inherent night-vision kicked in he looked around the room and took it in: it was pretty much the same as his versions with few differences, such as the fact that she seemed to be missing one of her books. The missing book was one about an ancient warrior named Rorek and his journey to vanquish the evil dragon, Malchior, who he eventually trapped in a book and threw it into the Void. Abel continued his search for the book that told him about the transfer of demonic powers: The book of Azar. He searched her shelves for the book, but to no avail. It took him until he was actually holding a piece, to realize he had gone through her dresser. He looked at the under garment and blinked, confused by the fact that his sister had black lingerie. When he finally realized what he was holding, he dropped in shock and stepped back.

'Wow, Beast Boy told me her room was scary, but I don't think he meant that.' Levitating the garment with his powers he threw placed back into the drawer and closed it. He turned to continue his search and looked at the bookshelf behind him and the first thing he saw was the book of Azar. He grabbed it and walked out of the room; when he was in the hallway he closed his eyes and tried to force the image out of his mind. When he was satisfied, he walked back to the kitchen and glanced at the clock: half past five. He shrugged and began thumbing through the book. His initial direction was the passage about power transferring. When he found the page he fully opened the book and began reading. In seconds he had gathered everything he needed and proceeded to read the entire book; when he had finished, he blinked and looked at the clock, it had barely moved to the next minute marker.

"Holy…"he started.

"Holy what?" Raven asked as the Titans walked in. The Beast Boys and the Cyborgs were talking about the robbery they had stopped. Abel jumped and turned around in one motion. "We're home, by the way."

"I noticed…" he said as he looked at the Raven that didn't have her fingers laced in Robin's and shuddered a little. Everyone noticed this; Starfire was the first to speak.

"Perhaps I should turn up the thermostat… friend?" Abel was confused by the way she finished her sentence but shook his head. Raven released herself from Robin and levitated the bag she held to Beast Boy.

"Put those away." Beast Boy pushed the bag away and frowned.

"But you've-" he was interrupted by Raven rounding on him with her eyes glowing viciously. "Yes ma'am!" he said saluting and standing stiff as a board. He grabbed the bag and ran into the kitchen like there was no tomorrow. The other Beast Boy made a whiplash noise and grinned. His grin disappeared when he noticed Raven glaring at him; he immediately ran off to help his counterpart. Raven turned back to Abel and questioned him again.

"So, holy what?"

"Eh? Oh! I was reading a passage about subconscious telepathic projection and when I looked at the clock again, it had barely moved past the minute!"

"So?" Robin asked.

"I think I may have read the entire book at least twice in that half minute!" everyone's jaw dropped when he said this, "I'm a fast reader, but I didn't think I could read that fast…"

"So, what did you learn from my book?" non-dating-Robin Raven asked with a flushed look. Abel tried to forget about what he had found in her room and replied.

"uh… subconscious telepathic projection occurs when one is in a deep peaceful sleep; their thoughts are projected into the object of their attraction."

"Whose thoughts?" Raven asked.

"Starfire's" he replied, indicating the still sleeping form.

"What was she thinking about?" the other Raven asked.

"Me… she was thinking about me…" Abel let his voice trail with a smile; he looked up suddenly and looked at the conscious Starfire. "What's a smorfka?" She blushed deeply before she answered.

"A smorfka is a male or female with which a person is deeply in love and wishes to marry…" Abel turned back to watch his Starfire sleeping peacefully. Beast Boy spoke up.

"For being demonology, a lot of the special stuff is based on love."

"Love is so uncommon with demons that any semblance of it results in great power," Raven responded. Abel looked back to them and sighed.

"I couldn't get through to Carthatagon… I think I need more power," he said, looking at the Ravens and Robin. They nodded and walked to the center of the room.

"Wait, you have powers?" Robin asked his other self as he walked followed the Ravens.

"Yeah…"

"Where did you get them?"

"I… I got them from… from Raven…" he responded while his face turned red. A pile of plates in the kitchen exploded and showered the kitchen in broken ceramic. The Raven he was referring to blushed as well, while the other's jaw dropped. Abel tapped his foot impatiently and spoke up.

"Work now, talk later! We've got to get my kid!" he said waving his hands in a hurrying motion. The demon-powered teens made their way to the center of the living room and took their meditative positions and began chanting in eerie unison. The others watched the scene as chills ran down their spines. Visible energy flowed from the like smoke as they rose higher and higher, almost touching the ceiling. The chanting woke the sleeping Starfire, and she looked around trying to find the source of the eerie chanting; when she looked up she gasped to see her demonic friends floating up to the twenty foot ceiling, but restrained from saying anything. The remaining Titans and their copies watched as Abel began to chant louder and rotate; when he was almost shouting and rotating at a speed that would tear a human apart, lightning-like strands of energy flared around him and struck the others, breaking their concentration and sending them falling to the floor, unconscious, but were caught by the other Titans.

Abel continued to rotate, but his chanting was replaced by pained and frustrated growls and shouts. Starfire flew up to him to try and calm him, but before she got close enough, he suddenly stopped spinning and fell to the floor. Starfire moved to catch him, but stopped when he suddenly stopped halfway through his fall. His eyes were closed and his head lolled to the side, Starfire made her way to him, and managed to get close enough to touch him. When she laid her hand on his chest, his eyes snapped open and were not just glowing, but they seemed to be aflame with energy. Starfire drew back as he curled into a ball and suddenly threw his legs and arms out, sending a burst of energy all around him with a shout. The burst was intangible so it didn't affect Starfire, but she was blown to the side as Abel suddenly shot forward and phased through the window without another word.

"ABEL!" Starfire screamed, but he didn't hear as he disappeared over the horizon in seconds. Starfire slammed her fist into the window, shattering it into miniscule pieces which fell to the rocky island below. She turned as the others regained consciousness. Robin had caught one of the Ravens and knelt down and set her on her feet with a deep blush. One of the Cyborgs had caught the other two and set them down. When they were on their feet they embraced glad to see each other okay as the other two glanced at each other shyly. Starfire bit her lip nervously as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Where's my brother? What happened to the window?" Raven asked when she released Robin. Starfire solemnly waved behind her.

"He flew through the window… phased through it… I broke the window… don't know where he went…" Raven walked to her and put her arms around her.

"It'll be okay, Starfire… he'll be okay," she whispered as she stared out of the shattered window. 'If you get yourself killed I swear I'll drag you back to the mortal plane and kill you again, you hear me?" she projected to her brother.

'Deal' was the only response she got before she was blocked out of his mind.

TT

'This is gonna rock!' Terra thought as she approached the enormous tower on a floating boulder. After she had run away from the Titans, she returned to the cave she had been staying at before she met them. She felt guilty for leaving like she did. She knew Beast Boy hadn't told them. She knew it was Robin's detective skills. She also knew he was right. But still she ran away. Not this time. She can control her powers… sort of. She had been practicing in the barren wasteland that fringed Jump City; if they accepted her, she would be an incredible addition to the team. If they accepted her she could be with Beast Boy.

With that thought in her head, she accelerated the molecules of the rock, urging it forward. When she arrived at the door she rang the buzzer, but got no response. Getting impatient, she checked the roof, but found that empty as well. She returned to the door and rang again. Still no response, so she bored into the ground and into the garage of the tower. Activating the elevator, she prepared herself to give them hell for ignoring her. Arriving at the living room door she walked in mocking anger and shouting.

"Hey! What's the… big… idea?" her faux rant died down as she realized no one was there. It was two in the afternoon! They weren't fighting anyone, she had checked from the air. Shrugging, she decided to raid the fridge and pantry. 'I can always give 'em hell later…' she thought as she plopped very unladylike on the couch with a soda and three bags of chips and turned on the television.


	21. Dimension Hopping

Abel squinted against the wind as he rocketed through the air. He looked down and was amazed to see how fast everything was disappearing behind him. He tried to remember what had happened back at the Tower, but drew a blank. He vaguely remembered Starfire in front of him but that was it.

'If you get yourself killed I swear I'll drag you back to the mortal plane and kill you again, you hear me?' came Raven's voice.

'Deal,' he replied and shut her out of his mind. He didn't want to drag any of them into this. He knew he would need their help, but he felt so strong all of a sudden. He had gotten a lock on his brother's location and intended to use some of that sudden power on him. He put on an extra burst of speed and tore through a cloud, dissipating in completely. The wind against his face started to sting so he put up a small force field to reduce the wind against his face, which also made him speed up dramatically. If it came down to it, he would call them, but he would much rather do it by himself. His brother's aura led him to a cave on the outskirts of town; Abel entered the cave and landed, lighting his hand to provide light. He followed the trail, but stopped when he heard the remark.

'What's a cutie like him doing down in a smelly old cave like this?'

He turned in the direction of the voice and did a double take. In front of him was a statue of a girl wearing armor of some sort. Abel immediately recognized her as Terra. He looked down at her feet and saw a plaque and dying flowers. The plaque read: 'Terra; A Teen Titan; A True Friend'. Abel scratched at her shoulder with his nail and rubbed some of it between his fingers.

'She's not solid rock!' he thought as he pressed his hand against her chest.

'Watch those hands! You're not that cute!' she protested. Abel shifted his hand to her shoulder.

'Sorry about that'

'You better be! Wait… you can hear me?'

'You're not solid rock, I'm telepathic, you still have a conscious mind, so I can hear you, yes. I'm sure you've met my sister.'

'I… wait… You look… what's the word? Tamaranian! You're Starfire's brother?'

'I'd be breaking a few laws if I was. No, Starfire's my girlfriend. I'm Raven's brother.'

'Ah, Raven…' she replied.

'Problem?'

'No, no… it's just… when I was with them…'

'You mean when you were working for Slade?' Abel corrected.

'Yeah… she was the last one to trust me… she is a smart girl… how is she?'

'Different Raven.'

'Huh? But you said…'

'I know what I said. It's still true, but… I'll explain later. How about I get you out of there?'

'Dude, that would totally rock! Uh, no pun intended.' Abel nodded as he closed his eyes and focused his energy on separating the rocky surface from the less rocky surface underneath. The diamond hard stone encasing the girl cracked and a bright yellow light pierced through. Abel stepped back and let her finish the job; the rock erupted from her body and she let out a relaxed sigh. Placing her hands on the lower part of her back she leaned back and a series of pops were released; she leaned forward with another sigh and did the same with her neck and knuckles. Finishing with her stretching, she turned to her savior.

"So how can I repay you?" Abel smirked and she immediately withdrew. "Hey, like I said: You're not that cute!"

"Eh? Oh! Oh…. No I wouldn't do that."

"Oh…" she replied, "So… what then?"

"Help me find my son."

"Right on! Wait… you have a son? What, are you, like sixteen?"

"No. I'm fourteen actually, and the kid's from the future. I'll explain later. Now, follow me. I'm tracking my brother."

"Okay…" Terra followed Abel farther down Slade's former 'rent-a-lair' for twenty about minutes. She found it hard to keep up with him as he was practically flying. 'You'd think the guy would let up on a girl that's been trapped in a rock for God knows how long!'

'Sorry,' he replied as he slowed to a drifting hover. Terra ran into him because she was running and had not been expecting him to actually stop.

"Can't you keep out of people's minds?" she asked as she brushed herself off.

"Usually, but before I came here, I got a burst of energy and I'm suddenly stronger. I think my brother may have gotten it too…"

"How old is your brother?" Terra asked as they continued at a fast paced walk.

"We're twins." Abel replied before taking off at a run, indicating the conversation was to be put on hold.

'This guy's kinda annoying…' Terra thought as she ran after him.

'That's not very nice,' Abel replied without turning.

"Stop doing that!" she almost shouted back.

"Stop thinking so loud," he replied calmly. Terra groaned and pressed on without another word and what she hoped were quieter thoughts.

TT

"He has been gone for hours! Have you picked him up yet?" Starfire asked as the trio tried to trace the runaway.

"Sorry, Star. He's not letting us in. I didn't know he could block us…" Robin said, unfolding his legs. He started pacing with his counterpart, neither of them noticing.

"He shouldn't be able to. You said there was some kind of lightning?" she asked addressing the Beast Boy that was from this reality, whom they had designated 'Beast Boy One'.

"More like one of those cool light thingies that go to your palm when you touch it." He replied.

"Those are so cool!" Beast Boy Two said. Raven's jaw, as well as her counterpart's jaw, dropped.

"He absorbed our energy!" they said in unison. Everyone looked at them for clarification. "The strands of light were like leeches that absorb the demonic entity of anything it touches. For a half demon, that's quite feat; only temporary and non-lethal. For a pure demon, it's permanent and fatal to the one whose entity is absorbed." They said, starting and finishing at the same time.

"Anyway… that still doesn't explain why he's blocking us…" Robin said, finally taking notice of his counterpart pacing next to him in the same manner.

"Wait!" Raven said as she closed her eyes, "I'm picking him up!" 'Abel!'

'What?' he replied.

'What the hell were you thinking?'

'I don't know, but right now I'm thinking you should make some room, I'm coming in and I might be bringing some company!' with that, a tear was made in the fabric of space and Abel fell through, blasting away with one hand while he held Noah in his other. A familiar voice called his name from the other side and he leaned back through the rift and pulled the other person through.

"Terra!"

TT

Terra screeched to a halt to avoid crashing into Abel again.

"Now what?" she asked impatiently. Abel held his hand up to silence her as he closed his eyes.

"Carthatagon was here…"

"Carthatagon?"

"My brother"

"Ah, and what's your name?"

"Abel. Hush," he said with a dismissive wave as he continued to track his brother. Terra wasn't going to let him get away with that and started to scold him.

"Hey, you don't have to be so bossy! I've been stuck in a rock, the least you could do is be a little nice!" Abel rounded on her, eyes crimson; another pair where eyebrows were. Terra shrunk back in terror and he immediately calmed down.

"Look, I'm sorry, but being nice to people is the last thing on my mind right now. I just want to get my son and get the hell out of here." Terra stood with a newfound respect for the boy and nodded.

"I want to help… I'm sorry I was so bitchy…"

"It's fine. You've been stuck in a rock for God knows how long." He said turning around again. He stepped up to the wall and examined it closely; noticing something he placed his hand on the surface and a mark in the wall ignited. Abel narrowed his eyes at the symbol.

"Scath," he said, his voice deep and venomous. Terra glanced at him but said nothing. Without a word he stepped forward and drew his finger along the wall. Terra watched as the wall tore open and revealed a throne room of some sort. When she leaned forward for a better look she almost fainted. Inside the room were _two_ Slades, at least _three _Abels, a big wicked looking red guy with antlers and four red eyes, and a baby. The occupants of the room noticed the opening and smiled equally sadistic smiles. Abel clenched his fists and flew into the room. The first thing he did was to attempt to grab the child, but failed and was sent into the far wall by one of his counterparts. Terra got over the shock of the strange gathering and stepped through to help. She raised her hands and chunks of the rocky floor came with them. She molded them into javelin like projectiles and hurled them at the occupants of the room, taking care to avoid the baby. Each of the spires was deflected and embedded into the wall harmlessly. One of the Slades moved to engage her and blasted a wave of fire at her. Terra screamed and summoned a large rock barrier to protect herself. The two of them continued to take turns hurling projectiles and defending while Abel recovered and tried to get his son again.

One of the Slades was fighting Terra, so that left Abel with the other Slade, two Carthatagons, another version of himself and his father. Slade stepped forward and cracked his knuckles.

"I've got a score to settle with you, boy." Abel clenched his fists in frustration. He could have done away with Slade with a wave of his hand but decided against it. The fight would give him time to assess how to get past the others. "Only one of us is going to survive this encounter," Slade said.

"I plan to," Abel replied and dashed forward, leading with a kick. Slade blocked it and ducked underneath Abel, rising with a punch to his ribs. Abel's body bent sideways and he rose a few feet in the air but caught himself from falling. From above Abel launched a volley of star bolts at Slade, who dodged them all, but not without getting grazed. Slade leapt to Abel, fist drawn back for a punch. Abel was ready and thrust his hands forward, blasting Slade with a beam of energy. Slade fell to the ground and landed with a gruesome snap. Abel looked down at the limp form that was Slade with a pang of regret, but it was overcome with satisfaction. Abel's thoughts were interrupted when he noticed his counterpart step forward

"You must be Abel," he said conversationally. "My name is Rycan."

"Pleasure," Abel replied in the same tone. They ran at each other at the same time and met in the center of the room, fingers interlaced. Abel glanced at his counterpart's forehead to see that he had no chakra. Everything noticeable was exactly the same, except for the missing chakra. "You're the younger one?" Rycan snarled and kicked out at Abel, but Abel saw it at the last second and stepped to the left. He stepped behind Rycan, twisting so they were back to back. Abel's twisting had brought both of their hands above their heads, straining their fingers. Abel leapt into the air, taking Rycan with him. When he reached at least fifty feet, he flipped back in front of Rycan and kicked him in the head, followed by a knee to the groin. The cheap shot bent Rycan at the waist, so it was easy for Abel to throw his left leg over and knee him in face again. The move left Rycan's hands between Abel's legs, crossed at the wrist. Before giving him time to recover, Abel brought his right leg over, so he was facing him again, shattering Rycan's forearms. Ignoring his counterparts piercing screams of agony, Abel flipped back over his head, dislocating Rycan's shoulders. Abel flipped forward in the air and catapulted his shattered opponent into the nearby wall. Rycan fell to the ground, unconscious. The younger Carthatagon ran to him and attempted to heal him. Abel knew healing everything he had done would take a while and drain them both so he decided to proceed to the older version. Before doing so, he checked on Terra. She was holding her own quite well: she attacked the demonically enhanced Slade with a vengeance. She obviously had a grudge against him, so he stayed out of it.

Turning his attention to his brother, he was appalled to see him clapping.

"Bravo, brother. I didn't think you had it in you."

"And what would that be?"

"The willingness to take human life…" he said, waving his hand in the direction of Slade's crumpled body. Abel glanced at his handy work and shrugged.

"Casualty of war." Carthatagon smirked and waved his hand again.

"Tell him that." He said with a malicious smile. He pointed at Slade and Abel turned to see him rising. There were snaps and pops as Slade's broken bones reset themselves. Abel glared back at his brother.

"Coward!" he spat. Carthatagon smiled, unfazed.

"Apprehend him, Ark'tesh" Abel spun to face the resurrected Slade as a mark similar to the one on the cave wall burned into the front of his mask. Abel gave a frustrated growl and prepared a Dark Bolt, his increase in power allowing him to do it with one hand. He threw it at Ark'tesh. The projectile hurtled toward him, but was caught in a field of fire. Ark'tesh cradled it in his chest before launching back. Abel copied the move successfully, but was knocked back by the velocity of the projectile. Copying a move he saw on cartoon Beast Boy had been watching, he held his hands at his sides and supercharged the dark bolt with more telekinetic energy. When the compact ball had reached the magnitude of a mini-nuke, he launched at he adversary. Ark'tesh cart wheeled to the left and the ball detonated where his feet were. When the smoke cleared, Abel groaned to see he had survived by forming a shield with his pyrokinesis.

"Why won't you die?" he shouted as he teleported forward and punch him in the face. His neck snapped as his limp body spun in the air from the force of the blow. Abel turned back to Carthatagon. "Your turn"

"Not yet, dear brother." He said with a lazy wave to where Ark'tesh's body lay. Abel spun around just in time to be kneed in the jaw. The momentum carried him upward where he was then grabbed by Ark'tesh and hurled into a pillar near the throne. Abel rolled onto his back and saw Carthatagon and Trigon watching like him getting his ass kicked was a spectator's sport. Before Abel could right himself, Ark'tesh landed on his chest and pinned his hands above his head. He lowered his head so their faces were inches apart and Abel could feel smell the decomposing flesh under his mask.

"Draw," he whispered. He moved his hand to Abel's throat and closed his hand. Abel grabbed his wrist in a feeble attempt to pry him off. Ark'tesh raised other hand, preparing for the knockout. Abel gurgled and felt his eyes burn; he shut them tightly and the sensation lessened in intensity. Abel opened his eyes, but only saw white; when the white light faded he looked up see Ark'tesh had been thrown off of his body and across the room. Without a second thought Abel righted himself and dashed toward his son in Carthatagon's arms. Abel swept his foot across the ground, tipping Carthatagon and grabbed his son before he hit the ground. With his free hand he hurled him toward the other Carthatagon and made break for the center of the room.

"Terra!" he shouted. She looked back at him and he waved for her to follow. She turned her attention back to Hiketesh and drew her hands into her chest. She dropped them down and shot them up again, a spire rising to meet Hiketesh as he pounced on her. The spire impaled him and he went limp. She turned and ran after Abel as he made another tear and jumped through. Twisting in midair, he launched a volley of bolts in the direction of his pursuing twin and his counterpart. About two feet from the rift Terra felt her feet pulled from underneath her.

"Abel!" she shouted as he saw him hand the child to Starfire. He reached back through and grabbed her, throwing another bolt as he did so. The bolt caught Carthatagon in the chest and broke his concentration. Abel grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her through and they fell to the floor; Terra landing on top of him.

"I'm taken…" he said after some hesitation. Terra scoffed and rolled off of him and looked around. She was surrounded by Raven, Raven, Robin, Robin, Cyborg, Cyborg, two Beast Boys that looked like they were torn between anger, joy, confusion, and jealousy; Starfire, and Starfire holding the baby.

"What the hell is going on?" Terra said, rubbing her eyes "has my vision gone bad?"

"Well, I said I'd explain later… I guess this is 'later' enough…" Abel said, checking his body for fractures, "I'm from an alternate reality… along with Raven, Robin, Beast Boy and Starfire," he said as the ones he was referring to raised their hands. Terra stood and looked around. She looked at the two Beast Boys and bit her lip. The others took this as a hint and cleared out of the room. When everyone was gone, Beast Boy ran to Terra and engulfed her in a hug.

"I missed you…" he said.

"I missed you, too…"

"I guess I owe Abel a butt-load… not even Raven could bust you out… she did try, you know…"

"I know, I saw everything. Now, shut up and kiss me." Beast Boy complied without hesitation. They were so absorbed in each other that they didn't notice the other Beast Boy and the two Cyborgs peek back in.

"Do you think we should stop them?" Cyborg whispered.

"Now you owe me twenty bucks!" Best Boy whispered to the other Cyborg.

"We didn't bet on it- argh!" he said as Abel pulled the three of them back through the door with his powers. He looked back in to see Terra and Beast Boy staring at him.

"Don't mind me. Continue." He said ushering them on with his hands. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"I think the moment's gone," Terra said.

"With the wind," Beast Boy agreed. "But, there will be plenty more, right?"

"Count on it."

TT

Carthatagon lifted himself from the floor and glared at the place where Abel had disappeared to. He turned to where Ark'tesh's smoking body lay.

"Get up!" he spat. Ark'tesh rose obediently and cracked his neck back into place. Carthatagon walked back to the throne and waited as his alternate self carried his crippled brother with his telepathy. Hiketesh pushed himself off of the spire and walked back to the throne as his wound healed seamlessly, leaving a gaping tear in his shirt. When they had gathered at the throne, Trigon reached out with his hand and closed his fist. Carthatagon and Ark'tesh convulsed in pain as the younger watched with mirth next to his crippled brother. Trigon opened his hand and the two fell to the ground in agony

"I want you to retrieve your younger self. You are only of any real use to me during that stage of your growth. If you fail me again, I will destroy you" Carthatagon rose and bowed to Trigon. He turned and mustered up as much strength as he could and tore a rift to his reality. Ark'tesh helped him through the portal, having been drained of all of his strength creating it. The portal led them to his room; on the bed in the center was the sleeping form of his younger self. Carthatagon scoffed at how weak he used to be: demanding a bed. Carthatagon bent over the sleeping boy and slapped him across the face. The slap woke the boy and he shot up, preparing himself to fight. Carthatagon raised his hand and the boy was surrounded in black and held in place. The younger version watched in shock as light scars formed on the right side of his assailant's cheek.

"I see… What do you want?" he asked forcing the binding aura from his body. The older Carthatagon smirked and slashed his hand through the air to his left.

"Before we depart there is something I must tell you."

"Oh?"

"Father has been lying to us. We mustn't destroy our brother."

"And why is that?" he scoffed.

"It will kill us."

"You lie"

"No. I want him dead as well. But it cannot be so. If he dies, we die." The younger Carthatagon clenched his fists.

"Very well… where are we going?" the older Carthatagon sliced through the air and created a rift.

"To Father"

TT

"So what were you guys doing on the roof?" Abel asked as he cradled Noah in his arms.

"Oh, we were just getting back from a space mission with a guy named Val-Yor. He seemed like a nice guy at first. Then we found out about his nickname for Starfire being an insult," Robin replied with disgust. Starfire looked down and Abel couldn't help but ask.

"What did he call you?"

"Troq…" she replied without looking up. Her counterpart gasped and Abel furrowed his eyebrows.

"Bastard," he said. Both Starfires looked at him in shock.

"You know what 'Troq' means?" his girlfriend asked.

"Yeah, when I was younger and my mother was still alive, she told me a little about our culture. Said there were people who prefer a kick in the teeth than be in the same room as a Tamaranian. Said the word they used to describe a Tamaranian was 'Troq'. She didn't use those exact words, but that's how I remember it."

"Hey do you know what 'Clorbag' means?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yeah she called me that one time" the other Beast Boy agreed.

"No I don't. But I know it's bad. My mother shouted that at a guy she was dating." Abel replied, a far-off look in his eye. "Anyway, we need to focus on us getting out of here." With that said the Titans that had to depart gathered around Abel and Noah. Abel removed his rosary and held it out.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos." Raven said and they were pulled into his mind. Abel was about to follow but was interrupted when they were all dropped back out. They all landed in a crumpled heap and stood, not realizing where they were until they saw Abel and the others staring at them confused.

"What the hell?"


	22. Righting Wrongs I

Terra rushed to the console as the alarm blared. Looking at the GPS marker showed it was a robbery on Cooper St. Terra turned and ran out the door. Once outside she boarded a boulder and followed the portable positioning system she had found. Arriving at the scene showed her that the robbers were just starting their business and seemed to be having trouble cooperating. Terra landed in an alley and walked out into view.

"You don't give the orders, I do!" one of the robbers shouted.

"You shouldn't be in this position, rookie!" the other robber shouted, turning his gun on the other. Inside the bank the other four stopped what they were doing to watch the scene. Terra frowned; they still hadn't noticed her so she decided to make herself known by taking a leaf out of Robin's book and announcing her presence with a one-liner.

"Can't we all just get along?" The robbers turned to the newcomer and the bellicose one with the gun turned on her.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Terra reached up to her hair and took out the red butterfly shaped comb. She tossed it over and it landed on the ground at his feet. He looked down and stared at it in confusion. He looked up with a quizzical look and was hit in the face with a chunk of debris from the bank. His partner immediately fell to his knees and put his hands on his head. Terra frowned, but decided to proceed into the bank. She stepped over through the hole and smiled at the hostages. She turned her smiling face to the other four robbers and struck up a conversation.

"Nice day for a robbery isn't it?" All activity stopped. One of the robbers took out his gun and fired. Terra raised her hand and a section of the floor came with it, bullet imbedding in the wall. She raised her hands again and walls erupted from the floor, separating the hostages from the robbers.

"Are you a Teen Titan?" one of the robbers asked, panic-stricken.

"Honorary," she responded and tore up a section of the floor; it tipped them all forward and they fell on their faces. She set the slab back were it was and lowered the protective walls. The hostages cheered as she fashioned handcuffs out of rock and pulled the robbers out of the building. Setting them next to their rookie leader, she beckoned the hostages out of the bank. When they were all clear she raised her hands and replaced as much of the debris as she could. The crowd cheered again and she bowed and left on the slab of rock she arrived on. Before leaving she turned back to the robbers. "Play nice."

Terra grinned as she entered the living room, but stopped when she noticed the mirror she had found on the counter had a spiral of familiar black aura reaching through the glass.

"Hello? Raven? Is that you? Where is everybody?" she called but the spiral retreated back into the mirror and all that was left was her reflection. She picked it up and examined it. With a frown and a shrug she set it back down and went back to the couch and continued beating all the high scores on the Gamestation.

TT

"I think I heard Terra!" Beast Boy said as they sat at the couch. "When we were in the portal thingy, I think I heard Terra! She said 'Where is everybody?'… Did you guys hear it?" he looked up at the others that had been in the portal and they nodded.

"So… what exactly happened?" Abel asked from his perch in the back of the couch.

"What does it look like happened?" Raven asked touching a bruise forming on her forehead, which immediately disappeared. "We got dumped back here."

"Why have we been prevented from returning to our home?" Starfire asked as she held her finger in front of Noah. The baby gurgled and waved his hands happily, he started to levitate slightly.

"I don't know Star…" Abel said as he spun on the couch and addressed the other Raven. "Any idea what went wrong?" but before she could answer a portal opened in the ceiling and down came an incredibly beautiful woman.

"You cannot return until you have righted what you have wronged."

"What do you-" Abel started but paused and squinted. "Mom?" the woman smiled and Everybody's jaw dropped

"That's your mom?" Beast Boy asked, drooling. "Dude!" Abel glared at him but his mother laughed.

"Yes my son, it is I. I am so sorry I had to leave you. Chicken pox appears to be fatal to Tamaranians. But that is not why I am here. You cannot return, because a terrible fate has befallen this place and you must remedy you interference. You can only return if you take your brother and his servant with you back to your reality, and reset this place back to its rightful path. I am very proud of you Abel. You have grown to be a great young man and… as it appears, a good father," she said waving at Noah. Noah giggled and waved back. "My husband on Tamaran would be quite proud of you were you his son. I must go now. Good-bye. I love you."

"I love you, too…" Abel replied, his voice cracking as tears welled up in his eyes. A box on the kitchen counter malfunctioned and shot waffles into the air before exploding. His mother disappeared and Abel shuddered, he wiped the tears out of his eyes and turned back to the others. "Looks like we're going back to Zynthos…" Starfire walked up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Her husband _would_ have been extremely proud of you. I know this for sure. Her husband was my kinorfka, Galifore, on Tamaran." Abel smiled and nodded.

"We should go there sometime."

"As soon as we return to our-" she was interrupted by the alarm going off. Robin rushed over and turned back to them.

"Slade," he spat. "He's starting fires in an abandoned part of town." Abel stroked his chin.

"You should go. I mean the Titans that are from this dimension. I think this may be some sort of distraction. You guys go and we'll return to Zynthos and see what they're up to. Robin nodded and stood.

"Titans! Go!" the Titans to which he was referring ran out.

"Well, let's go." Abel clapped his hands together. "The tear's still fresh, so it shouldn't be too hard to re-open. What are we going to do about Noah? I'd much rather we didn't take him with us."

"I will stay." Starfire said. Abel nodded and sliced his through the air; the tear opened and revealed a place that wasn't the throne room.

"What the?"

"What's wrong?" Raven said as she peered into the rift.

"I don't know, but that's not the throne room." Abel poked is head in and looked around. "I don't think that's even the temple! Oh well, we can find our way from there." He said as he stepped through. He hesitated and looked back in. "Maybe Cyborg should stay, too. He won't blend in as well as us." He said to Raven.

"I agree, but what about you? You're orange."

"So's my copy in this reality. I can make them think the chakra isn't there." With that they stepped through the rift. On the other side they looked around them; they appeared to be in a sewage system. Robin gathered this by the sounds of footsteps above and the stench of excretion.

"Nice place," he said, his voice muffled by is cape. He watched as Abel poked his head through a manhole and studied the way the people dressed. Dropping back down he waved his hand in front of himself and his clothing altered into a fancy sort of robe with silk shoes. "Pretty fancy for hell."

"This place isn't hell in the whole sense of the word. 'Hell' means that this is where great evil resides. Not a place where sinners go to suffer eternal damnation. What we call sin is a part of everyday life here. Try not to let your heroic demeanor show. It'll get you killed." Raven replied as she too altered her appearance. Robin nodded.

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" Best Boy said indicating their altered clothing.

"People see what they want to see. We have the ability to convince others that we are someone else by clouding their minds and making them see what _we_ want them to see. Robin, try to imagine looking like Abel. You won't be able to tell, but we will. Try it. As for you, we'll disguise you." She replied again. Robin closed his eyes and tried to imagine the clothes that he currently saw on Abel: a dark red robe and black shoes that curled at the toes. He opened his eyes and found that his clothes were still the same. He looked up and saw Beast Boy rolling on the floor, holding his sides in laughter.

"What?"

"You're naked." Raven said with a faint smile.

"What?" This time his tone was incredulous.

"You. Are. Naked." Abel replied while moving a hand to cover his eyes. "Maybe we should just find some actual clothes. You don't seem too good at this illusion thing." He phased through the floor and came back down with an armful of clothes.

"Why don't you keep the illusion thingy?" Beast Boy asked as he pulled on the large robe. The sleeves came six inches over his hands and the excess of the robe gathered at his feet.

"It's tiring. As soon as I phased through the ceiling, I felt like I was about to pass out." He turned to Robin. "You're going to have to remove that. Hiding your eyes is a sign of shame. Not even the blind do it." Robin hesitated.

"Robin no one is going to know the difference." Robin removed the mask and Raven gasped. "Your eyes…"

"You've seen them before, what's wrong?"

"They're darker… and they look kind of purple." They looked at Abel like he knew what was going on.

"You think I know what's going?"

"You've read the book of Azar and you have photographic memory." Robin replied in a tone that basically said 'Well yeah… Now get to it'. Abel shrugged.

"I'll be back. Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos." He was transported into his mind and returned a few seconds later. "Some of her traits have been transferred into you as well. It's nothing too serious. Your skin tone will start to look like hers, along with your hair. The process is slow and should finish in about two months." Abel reported as he lifted himself back up to the manhole. Robin sighed.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked.

"I was just thinking it was time for a change in wardrobe." He responded waving his hand at his discarded uniform. Raven nodded her approval and cocked her head in an 'about time' gesture. Abel dropped form his position and nodded.

"All clear. Let's go." They lifted themselves to the surface and walked out of the alley. The first thing they saw was the blackened temple built into the side of a mountain. They caught a few curious stares, mostly directed at Abel, as they headed in the general direction of the castle. They soon came to a fork in the road.

"Which way now?" Beast Boy asked.

"We could try the road marked 'Temple of Scath'" Raven remarked sarcastically. Beast boy squinted at the faded sign; the writing was in some strange language that Beast Boy couldn't read.

"If you say so…" he scratched at the back of his head but was blocked by the excess of the robe. "What are we supposed to be anyway?" he asked as they made their way up the road.

"Priests. I noticed they were the only ones walking up this road while the townsfolk avoided it completely. Put your hoods up." He finished as other priests came into view. They fell to their knees in front of Abel.

"Lord Rycan! My Lord, your father will not be pleased with you outside of the temple!" Abel raised his eyebrows and smirked.

"Oh? How can he be angry if he does not know?" he replied in a patronizing tone. The priests shrank lower and nodded vigorously.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Rise." Abel stated simply. The priests rose hesitantly. "Continue your duties."

"Thank you my Lord!" they bowed quickly and speedily continued down the road.

"Why weren't they suspicious about us?" Beast Boy asked.

"They didn't know you were there."

"So why'd we have to put up our hoods?" Beast Boy asked again. Abel shrugged and continued on.

TT

"I have returned," Carthatagon reported as he stepped through the portal. His younger self stepped through, followed by Ark'tesh. The newly arrived Carthatagon looked around and took in the room. It was identical to the room back in his reality; the smell of the air told him that it was also fifty feet below the Temple of Scath. He looked to the throne and saw exact replicas of himself, his brother, and his father. Carthatagon seethed at the memory of what he had been told, but refrained from taking his vengeance.

"So what exactly is going on?" he demanded.

"Patience…" His replica replied.

"All will be revealed to you in time." His brother finished.

"Why have you brought me here?"

"You are here to act as a…" his older self trailed off, searching for the right word.

"Detection device." The masked man finished.

"Oh? And who am I supposed to detect?"

"You'll find out soon enough." His older self replied. "Now, you asked what was going on. I'll tell you. We are going to bring the three worlds together. We will create one kingdom and rule over it."

"But why this reality? Why not our own?" the older one considered this a minute.

"Honestly? I don't know. It was convenient, I guess."

"You do not speak like one from Zynthos."

"Four years of banishment will do that to you." He replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"I see. And how are we going to do that?"

"Our nephew"

"Nephew?"

"Abel's son. He is from my time."

"What sane person would bed with that imbecile?"

"A Tamaranian."

"Ah, like mother." As soon as he finished his statement, Carthatagon felt a tingle in the back of his neck. He had never felt it before, but he immediately knew what it meant. "He is here."

TT

'Hello brother.' The voice was vaguely familiar, but Abel knew who it was.

'Carthatagon.'

'We've been expecting you.'

'They dragged you into this too, huh? Is your future self still there?'

'He is. Now come; Trigon grows impatient.' A portal opened in front of the four Titans. Abel turned to the others and explained with one word.

"Carthatagon." He turned to Beast Boy. "Maybe you should go back to the tower."

"Yeah, I agree!" he nodded vigorously. "Uh… just how do I do that?" Abel sliced his hand down and the living room of the Tower appeared in front of them. "Oh, right." He stepped through the portal, but stopped. "Don't worry, dude. Me and Cy'll watch over 'em." Without another word he brought his other leg up, caught his foot on the edge of the torn fabric of space, and stumbled into the other dimension.


	23. Righting Wrongs II

Abel stepped into the very dimly lit room and waved Raven and Robin through. He made his way up the considerable amount of steps that led up to the throne and made his proposal to his twin, his older twin, and what was once Slade.

"Well, we have my son but apparently can't leave unless we bring you three with us. So, if you don't mind?" he said waving his hand toward the still open rift, which immediately sealed. Carthatagon (the younger one from Abel's dimension) stepped forward and slammed his energized palm into his brother's chest, sending him toppling back down the way he came.

"I think not." He said as his twin made his less than graceful way back down the stairs. Raven and Robin immediately ran to his aid and helped him up. When he was steadied, he glared up at the crowd of demons laughing at his fall.

"I guess we'll do this the hard way." He said to Raven and Robin. Abel brought his hands together and prepared a Dark Bolt. Rising into the air, he began spinning. At the throne laughter had stopped and they stood watching in interest at what was occurring. Abel released the bolt and it went hurtling toward them at blinding speed. It came so fast that Trigon barely had enough time to raise a barrier. Unfortunately for them the bolt managed to slip past the barrier and instead of blocking the projectile it contained it within the shield, which had devastating results. The barrier fell and the smoke cleared to reveal Trigon slumped forward in his throne and Carthatagon and Rycan unconscious on the stone floor. Abel found no sign of the three they had returned for. Signaling for Raven and Robin to keep a look out he drifted over to where the unconscious demons lay. He landed in front of Rycan and Carthatagon and turned his replica over with his foot and barely dodged a kick to the face as his copy righted himself.

"Are you always this easy to fool?" Rycan asked as he lashed out with his energy.

"Sure," Abel replied as he leapt to the side and dashed forward, driving his knee into his assailants face, "Are you always this easy to break?" he punctuated this with a drop kick to the chest that sent Rycan down the steps the same way he had gone. Turning back to the alternate of his brother laying on his side, he kicked him in the stomach and found that he was actually unconscious. He turned back to where Robin and Raven were and saw that they had managed to apprehend his brother's older self and Slade.

"Where are you little brother!" he taunted as he turned around, searching for his brother. Sensing something behind him he kicked out and came into contact with his brother's face. Carthatagon retaliated by forcing his superheated hands into Abel's face. Abel gave a shout of surprise and pain and grabbed his wrists and fell to the ground. Planting his foot on Carthatagon's stomach sent him flying over him and within reach of Raven who surrounded him with her telekinesis and held him in place. Abel made his way down to his siblings and opened a rift. As he brought his hand down there was a shout from the direction of the throne.

"Phylix Ortes!"

It was Carthatagon's doppelganger; he had regained consciousness and was glaring down at them from the throne. Before anyone could react, Abel felt a searing pain just below his elbow and stared at his severed hand lying on the stone floor. Abel fell to his knees as tears welled in his eyes. Raven and Robin reacted at the same time lashing out at the attacker. Raven lifted him by his ankles and Robin whipped him with his aura, leaving red lashes. When Robin had finished whipping him, Raven slammed him into the four pillars that surrounded the throne and threw him into the wall forty feet away. The duo turned and lifted Abel up and carried him through the rift, bringing their prisoners with them.

TT

"What has happened?" Starfire shouted when she saw Abel clutching at his arm. "What is wrong with my Abel?" she placed her hands on his face and he looked up at her. His face was tear-stained and contorted in pain. He moved his left hand to show that he no longer had his right one. Starfire screamed, not at the sight of blood, but at the lack of it.

"Why does he not bleed?" she asked Raven as she set her brother on the couch. Raven shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know Starfire…"

"Because it is a magically inflicted wound," Carthatagon answered from where Raven had unceremoniously dumped him on the floor, "they do not bleed and it is impossible to mend it, unless you have the severed limb. You did bring his hand didn't you?" he said in a tone that suggested that he already knew the answer and hardly cared what happened either way.

"How can you be so cruel? Do you not care that your own brother is in mortal pain?"

"I am a demon. I have little in the way of heart."

"You will not have a heart when I am through with you!" Starfire's voice cracked and her eyes literally flashed. Carthatagon was unfazed.

"You would do no such thing, woman, for if you did your little sex toy would perish as well." This remark made Starfire snap. She rushed forward and picked him up, threw him against the wall, and blasted him with her eye beams.

"You will not call him that!" she screeched. She would have continued her onslaught, but was stopped by a solid black wall. She glared wildly at Robin and Raven, who shrugged. Abel seemed to have passed out, so that only left Noah. Cyborg and Beast Boy watched in amazement at what Starfire had done and looked down at the boy in Beast Boy's arms. His eyes were glowing white and his hands black as he raised a shield between his mother and uncle. Starfire immediately calmed down and went to Beast Boy, relieved him of his charge, and held the baby close.

"Thank you my son…" she said to him. Noah smiled and lowered the shield and tugged on Starfire's hair. Cyborg rushed to where Abel lay unconscious on the couch and examined the wound.

"I think I have another way around this…" he said after a while.

"What's that?" Robin asked. In response Cyborg raised his own hand and wriggled his fingers.

"I don't know about that. He might not agree." Raven said critically.

"Well get in his head and ask him." Beast Boy said. Without responding, Raven closed her eyes and dove into Abel's mind. An image of him appeared in front of her and her surroundings melted into that of their mind.

'Can you hear me?'

'Yeah. I'm in excruciating pain, got any ideas?'

'Actually, we do. Cyborg wants to build you a new arm.'

'Does he now? Well I guess it can't go too horribly wrong.'

With that Raven broke the connection and nodded to Cyborg. He hefted the unconscious Tamaranian over his shoulder and rushed to the infirmary. Raven and the others followed, bringing their cargo with them.

TT

"That should do it. Now we just need to insert the power chip and connect the nerves and wires." Cyborg said as he wiped sweat off his brow. His counterpart finished his programming for the arm and walked over with the chip.

"This program is more advanced than your original one." He said as he handed the chip over.

"Yeah, thanks."

"I'm serious! This is the fastest program in existence. It may even move faster than he does"

"Wow. That is pretty fast"

"It's good that you're getting along so nicely and the compliments are great, but I still can't feel my hand!" Abel interjected.

"Yeah, yeah, wise guy." Cyborg said as he inserted the chip into the slot on the arm. "Okay, now we need to connect the nerves. You want an anesthetic?"

"Will it make a difference?"

"No"

"Just do it."

"Alright man. On the count of three... One…" With that he twisted the lever and the wires were inserted into the nerves and Abel's scream filled the room and he lapsed into unconsciousness. "He needs to rest."

TT

Starfire winced as Abel's scream pierced the air. The door to the infirmary swooshed open and she ran to the first robot-human hybrid that walked out.

"How is he?"

"He'll be fine Star. The pain of the wires being inserted directly into his nerves caused him to go into shock. He'll be out of it for a while."

"May I go in?"

"Sure." Starfire hugged him and entered the room. She sat on the edge of the bed and stroked the cybernetic limb; she shivered slightly, it was cold as ice. It was slimmer and more delicate looking than the constructor's, but knowing Cyborg, the looks were deceiving. The arm was the same coloration as Cyborg's and twitched every so often as the computer ran checks to make sure it was in working order. Starfire brushed his damp bangs away from his face and kissed him on the forehead. Sitting back, she watched as his eyes moved behind his eyelids.

"What are dreaming about, my smorfka?"

TT

Abel's arm hurt. He wasn't sure why, but it hurt. He looked down at it, but it was completely intact. With a shrug he stood and looked around. He wasn't in Teen Titan's Tower. He was in a square white room with no windows and no door. Abel knocked on the wall and was rewarded with a hollow sound.

"Might as well." He drew back his fist and punched the wall. Instead of it collapsing, it stayed right where it was and Abel watched in horror as his entire hand shattered. Abel backed away and clutched at the numb that remained of his forearm. He looked around wildly and found that he was no longer in a white room; instead he was in a cemetery. He turned around and saw his friends gathered around a single stone and it looked like there was a funeral just ending. Abel walked over and read the stone. It read:

'Here Lies Abel

Oh Well'

Abel stared at the stone in confusion. Who the hell put that?

"You did," said a voice from behind him. Abel spun around and saw his brother with his arm around Starfire's shoulders. Starfire was smiling and stroking his chest. "You specifically requested that"

"Why aren't you dead? And what the hell are you doing with Starfire?"

"I don't know why I didn't die but Starfire felt that if I could break away from our little bond that would kill us both, then I must be the stronger of us. And I agree."

"No! Starfire wouldn't do that!"

"Who are you to tell me what I would and would not do?" Starfire asked as she shoved him. He fell backwards into the still open hole and landed in the open coffin. The lid snapped shut and he heard the sound of dirt being poured on top. When the sound stopped Abel tried to teleport out of the coffin but did so in vain. Abel resorted to his Tamaranian attributes and channeled his energy through his eyes. As the power built up the heat grew. When he tried to release it, the beam would not fire and his eyes continued to burn. Abel shut his eyes and the burning stopped. He opened his eyes and found himself in a large grassy field. He recognized it as one of his emotions' domains.

"You finally stopped dreaming." He heard his own voice from behind him and turned to find Happy in his green shirt doing handstands on a boulder. "Personally I prefer you to meditate through the night. Peaceful."

"Can I wake up?"

"No, your body's too weak. You should be able to get up in an hour or so. Now come over here and join me. We never do anything together!" Happy replied as he set his feet down and started jumping in excitement.

"That's because you're a figment of my imagination."

"Fine, be that way." Happy turned his back and crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. Since it was not in his nature to hold a grudge, the happy-go-lucky rendition turned around and smiled. "Hey look, our girlfriend's here." He said pointing behind Abel. Abel spun around and discovered that Starfire was in fact there.

"How did you get here?" he said as she ran over and embraced him.

"I do not know. I fell asleep and had a terrible dream, and then I was here." She looked down at his arm. "Your arm is whole." Abel looked down at his mind and saw that it was in fact whole. He shut his eyes and heard Starfire gasp. He opened his eyes and saw that his hand had been replaced by the cybernetic limb.

"Come on, I'll give you the grand tour."

TT

"How are we supposed to get home?" Robin asked the woman nuzzling his chest. Raven looked up at him and smiled. The Titans that were unfamiliar with this routine shifted uncomfortably, particularly the copies of the lovers snuggling on their couch.

"We have the power of six demons; we should be able to open an actual portal."

"Where do you get six?"

"There's you, me, the other me, Abel and Carthatagon, and the other Carthatagon."

"You really think he's going to help us?"

"Abel and I should be able to convince him. And by convince, of course, I mean threaten, brainwash, and or blackmail."

"Of course. Where is Carthatagon- can't we just call him Cain?"

"You expect him to be sticking around?"

"Well, I figured you and Abel weren't going to let him out of your sights, so he wouldn't be too far away from us."

"That's true. I didn't think of that. I put Cain in one of the storage closets, along with his counterpart and Slade. He won't be able to leave the tower anyway, I've put a spell on him and Abel; it's kind of like a leash, Cain will be free to move as far from Abel as he wants, but if Abel feels like it, he can reel him in. If he pulls hard enough Cain will come soaring back, avoiding any obstacle in his way; makes for one hell of a ride."

"Don't you think Abel'll abuse that a bit." Robin asked with an amused look

"I'm counting on it." Raven replied with mischievous grin. They both started laughing and the other Titans watched a little uncomfortably.

"It's weird," Beast Boy said with a laugh, "seeing Raven laugh and joke." In response, the Raven he was referring to straightened her face and glared at him.

"You're still not funny."

"Well sure he is. Just not in the way he would like."

Everybody turned in the direction of Abel with his arm around Starfire waist. Nobody noticed the other Starfire shift uncomfortably.

"You're not supposed to be up for another hour." One of the Cyborgs protested

"I have inherent healing powers. I decided not to wait; besides, I want to play with my new toy." He said as waved his right hand. "Where's 'his royal pain in the ass'?"

"You mean Carthatagon, Cain, and Slade?" Robin asked

"Cain being the one from our timeline?"

"They're in a closet somewhere." Raven said with a nod in response to Abel's second question. "You should be able to summon Cain here and possibly Carthatagon."

"Cool, how?"

"When I bound him while we were in Zynthos, I put a spell on him that binds him to the person his most strongly connected to. Just imagine him being next to you and he'll be here in no time." Raven explained. Abel smiled and closed his eyes. There was a crash from the basement and a shout of surprise as Cain was pulled to Abel. He skidded to a halt on the floor and sat there shivering.

"You put them in the freezer?" Terra asked.

"Is that what that was?"

"Y-y-you w-w-will s-s-suffer f-for this!" he said as he shook icicles out of his hair. "S-such extremes aren't n-necessary; I will not use m-my p-powers to d-destroy you."

"Only because you can't. You can't use your powers on family members past a certain extent." Raven retorted. Cain scowled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What exactly would that extent be?" Abel inquired, gesturing with his newly built arm. Raven shrugged. Cain stood.

"I hunger. I demand sustenance."

"Really?" Abel said, stepping forward to look his brother straight in the eye. "That's too bad. Unfortunately we're stuck with you and I'm not going to tolerate your demands. You're not royalty anymore." Cain glared at him, fists clenched and energized. Abel didn't flinch; he simply stood, staring calmly back at his brother. Cain, infuriated by Abel's calm, levitated, raised his fist and prepared to strike. Abel still stood there, but said.

"Down boy." Cain crashed to the floor with a dull thud. "I love you sis." He smiled at Raven.

"Consider it an early birthday present. I suppose we should get Carthatagon and Slade and go home." Abel nodded and teleported into the basement and returned a second later and dropped the two prisoners on the floor.

"How did you do that?" Beast Boy asked. "I've never seen Raven do that."

"Yeah, me neither." The other Beast Boy agreed.

"I have. On plenty of occasions. It just takes a lot to teleport like that instead of opening a portal."

"That doesn't make sense." Terra said. Raven glared at her. "What? Don't tell me you're still steamed up about what I did! I killed Slade and saved your lives!"

"Nice job with that." Raven replied sarcastically, indicating the Slade that lay shivering at Abel's feet.

"Actually, I killed this one." Abel said. Raven glared at him, but he just shrugged. "C'mon, you two are probably going to be living together, you'll need to kiss and make up sometime." Raven stared at him, Beast Boy smiled, and Terra had a look between slight disgust and mild interest. "You know what I mean."

"Fine." Raven said. "Forgiven but not forgotten."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Terra said and extended her hand. Raven took it after a pause and shook it briefly. Beast Boy jumped in the air and clicked his heels together, Robin and Cyborg nodded and smiled, Starfire joined Beast Boy in a dance that comprised of moves taken from old eighties' movies. The Titans that were not involved in the celebration watched patiently. Cain cleared his throat.

"Let us depart from this place." His voice trailed off and he began to mumble. Abel watched him with an interested look. 'What?' Cain projected into his head.

'Nothing.' Abel replied. Cain glared at him but joined the others in the ring to open the portal. The six of them began chanting in unison (two of them doing so grudgingly). A beam of light shot up from the floor and spread into a large circular gate. There on the other side stood Terra, who looked like she was struggling to keep her jaw and eyes from popping off and leaving. She hesitantly waved at them and smiled. Beast Boy jumped through the portal and engulfed her in a bone crushing hug. Cyborg shoved Slade through and followed, along with Starfire. Abel ushered Carthatagon and Cain through, then Raven and Robin followed. He turned to the other Titans.

"We'll keep in touch." He said with a sarcastic gesture.

"I hope not." Raven replied with a microscopic smirk of her own. Abel gave a short laugh and began to step through the portal. He paused and turned back and winked at Starfire before stepping through the portal. Starfire blushed furiously and Robin seemed to be raging. Before he could do anything, however, the portal closed and Robin just frowned at the space where it had been. After a while he sighed and addressed the others.

"So, about this Scath guy?"


	24. Epilouge

The Teen Titans gathered in the living room. Slade, Cain, and Carthatagon were bound to the ceiling. Abel released Cain form the bonds and he crashed to the floor. He stood and brushed himself off then placed himself at the counter and scowled at everything his eyes fell upon. Beast Boy sat at the couch and threw popcorn at the other two.

"So what do we do with these two?" he asked after he had launched his last piece.

"Carthatagon will have to go back to his own time; I suppose he could take Slade with him." Raven said as she held Noah. He crawled off her lap and picked up a piece of popcorn. Terra scooped him up and took the popcorn from his hand before he put it in his mouth.

"Not yet, kiddo." Noah looked at the mess and levitated another piece. As it got close Terra flicked it away, and Noah tried again. Abel watched from his perch on the back of the couch.

"What are we supposed to about Noah?" Everyone looked up at him. "I mean, do we send him back to his time?"

"We'd have to find it first." As Raven uttered these words a portal opened and Abel stepped through.

"Hi guys. How's it goin'?"

"How did you-?"

"I've been in limbo, for lack of a better phrase. Mother came down and froze time for us while you were in the alternate reality."

"If time was frozen, how did she get here?" Beast Boy asked, pointing at Terra.

"She only froze it for my timeframe, for lack of a better phrase."

"She can do that?"

"She's ascended to an Avatar, she can do about anything."

"And you know this how?" Terra asked.

"She explained it when she unfroze us." Future Abel looked at Cain and then up at the ceiling. "Hey bro, you're in big trouble." Carthatagon spat at him but it fell short and landed at his feet. Future Abel sighed. "I guess I'll take them off your hands."

"Noah too?" Starfire asked.

"I'm sorry. He belongs with us. You'll be able to enjoy his company in a few years." Future Abel took Noah from Terra. Carthatagon was suddenly yanked down and thrown through the portal. "I love that leash thing!" he glanced at his younger self and noticed his arm. "How did you lose your arm?"

"Carthatagon."

"Ah. That's going to hurt like hell when the changes you've made kick in."

"It will indeed."

"Well, see you later. Nice clothes by the way." With that he stepped through the portal and it closed behind him. Abel looked down at himself and realized he still had his Zynthonian robes. He grabbed the collar and pulled it off over his head. Raven followed suit.

"Oh crap." Robin said. Abel looked up and remembered how Robin had discarded his uniform. Abel fought to suppress his smile but failed miserably. He started laughing hysterically and Robin glared at him.

"What's so funny?" Terra asked. Robin hung his head in embarrassment. Beast Boy suddenly remembered the sewer and whispered in Terra's ear. Her eyes widened and she stared at Robin. Robin left through a portal and never returned.

"This is all very amusing, but I would like to be down from here." Everyone looked up at the voice and Abel cursed.

"Son of a bitch! The bastard didn't take Slade." He released Slade's bonds and he landed on his feet, much to everyone's chagrin. He stood and crossed his arms.

"You do realize that that bastard was you?" he said.

"What's your point?" Abel retorted. Slade harrumphed and started for the door. He was blocked by a black barrier. He turned around and Raven lowered her hand.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"I believe we are finished here. I'm returning to my home."

"Home?"

"Yes, my home. Where I scheme and plot your collective demises." Slade crossed his arms and leaned against the barrier. "So, if you don't mind?"

"You think we're just gonna let leave with your powers?" Cyborg asked.

"Ah, is that what you're worried about? Well, I don't have powers. My master took them from me when I failed to destroy Abel."

"Powers or not, you can't leave, unfortunately for all of us."

"And why not?"

"You have to stay in close proximity to Carthatagon or you'll die. On second thought go ahead."

"He's not here. I'm not dead."

"I am here." Cain said fromthe counter. "How badly do want to keep this thing you call life?" he asked Slade. Slade growled and kicked Raven's barrier, cracking it.

"I suppose that means I'm on a leash as well."

"Sort of. There's a boundary. If you go past it you die and if you go back into it you're revived again. And Cain can size it as he sees fit."

"Where did you learn that?" Raven asked.

"The Scrolls of Ixarat."

"And when did you read those?" Raven asked, narrowing her eyes.

"While you and Robin were out one night," he explained, "I snuck into your room and… uh…" he trailed off when he noticed Raven glaring at him. Just then Robin returned in a new uniform and stared a Slade.

"Why is he down?"

"I released him. He can't do anything to us, Cain can stop him."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I'll give your leash good tug if you don't."

"Fine. But I will find a way out of this, and when I do you will all suffer beyond comprehension." Abel clapped him of the shoulder.

"You can keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better."

Cain glared at him. Abel stared calmly back. Abel knew it would be a while before Cain figured out how to get free, but by then he wouldn't have the heart to follow through with his threats. Abel would see to that personally. He would make sure Cain had no intention of killing any of them. He would make him good. Well, as close to good as was demonically possible anyway.

End.

I'd like thank those of you who reviewed. Those of you who didn't should be receiving your anthrax in the mail shortly. I have my sources. Hollow threats aside, two or three reviewed saying the story was confusing at times. At first, I was thinking, 'the hell with them', but when I reread my story, I realized that they were right (the afore mentioned will also be receiving anthrax or any other poisonous substance in their mail). Anyway, a few months back, I wrote this story in the first person perspective of the major characters, but removed it. Those of you who care will be happy to know that I will be re-writing it and re-posting. I am also going to start the sequel, in which another Titan falls in love, and other such madness. In other unrelated news, I am currently working on a Harry Potter fic, entitled Harry Potter and the Dard Lord (creative, no?). Takes place right after book six (Damn good btw) and will contain spoilers for you sorry saps that haven't finished it yet. I finished it the day it came out. I'm full of myself aren't I? And talkative. T.T.F.N.

Mighty Bob.


	25. Hello Readers

Hello readers. If you got to this page through an e-mail link, you are a beautiful, beautiful person. That, or you haven't gotten around to taking me off your alert list... Anyway. Firstly, I would like to apologize for abandoning the series like I did. I lost interest in the story and stopped working on it completely. But, I have started writing again. I have published my first one-shot for the Xenosaga series and am currently working on a story that I hope will be as epic as the game itself. I am also working on a Naruto story at the same time. Each story is still in the making, with twenty or more pages to the first chapters with much more to come. This has compelled me to not only revive the 'Family Matters' series, but to redo it. The chapters will not only be much longer, but there will be more of them and I am stopping all my other projects until the first Family Matters is redone, because if got to this page because Mr. told there was an update to this story, then you sure as hell deserve it. I am also going to take this opportunity to try my hand at writing lemon and any other citrus-y form of writing I can think of. For those of you uncomfortable with such content or if you are too young for that stuff (in which case you really shouldn't be reading this story), fear not, for I have taken you prudes into consideration.

If a chapter has lemon in it, it will be posted first with a lemon-free version posted afterward. I will put an 'M' after the title of the lemony version. It will look something like this:

2. Chapter 2 (M) -- This version contains lemon.

3. Chapter 2 -- This one does not.

Ta-da. I will use this form of warning for all my future stories. Now, the main plot of the story will remain the same and many elements of the chapters will as well, but I will be going into much more detail and taking much more time with my writing, because reading over the story, I found it to be rushed and not as in depth as I would like it to be. The original will be kept on the site until I have finished the renewal, because I will be simply adding to the chapters that already exist. It will be like my own little Frankenstein's monster. Muahahaha. Ha. Anyway. If you want to re-read the original and compare it to the new version, you have every right to do so, in fact, I encourage. I would like your input on what you would like redone and how you would like it, so send your requests in the form of a review to this notice.

I will start redoing the story on Saturday, but I don't know when I will finish it. Many chapters may end up combined and others taken out and redone completely, I don't know yet. What I do know is that they will all be gloriously long and hopefully worth the wait.

I am also considering changing my pen name, but have no ideas what to use. If you have any suggestions, please post it in a review or e-mail me. My email address is on my profile page will also be recieving some attention.

Thank you, for your patience.


End file.
